Minister of Information, Gospel Kazako has urged the media in the country to avoid indulging in corrupt practices as they are custodians of sanity.
Kazako gave the advice on Tuesday in Blantyre during a National Anti-Corruption Strategy II (NACS) dissemination workshop for the media aimed at updating the practitioners with anti-corruption knowledge.
He said people in the country have lost confidence in almost everyone; hence, the need for the media to take a leading role in addressing the ‘cancer.’
“Corruption is a challenge to any country’s development because it creates social injustice as it diverts resources meant for Malawians to a few individual’s pockets. Therefore, the media is a very powerful partner that helps expose corruption and the public holds you highly,” said Kazako.
He added: “As the media, please refrain from writing good stories just because you have been paid to do so because it will land you in trouble one day; the world is bigger than you. Above all, you will do the nation a lot of justice if you report corruption regardless of who is involved.”
Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Director General, Reyneck Matemba, described the media as a trusted partner in spreading corruption messages as such the two (ACB and the media) needed to cultivate a very good working relationship.
“According to a recent research by Institute of Opinion and Research (IPOR), the media beat ACB in fighting corruption as they don’t only expose but also demand answers on behalf of the public. The media is our trusted partner in dealing with corruption,” said Matemba.
The NACS II was launched in December, 2019 in order to promote good governance and improved service delivery in Malawi through a coherent and effective approach to fighting corruption.
The workshop has been supported by Open Society Institute of Southern Africa (OSISA).
