The Big-Mouthed: Madame Chizuma, congratulations! Do nothing but your job!
By Richard Kayenda
Now there is a new boss in town! The Anti-Corruption Bureau -ACB has a new leader; a female boss, who is perhaps the youngest and one of the fewest female bosses to have ever served at the helm of the graft busting body. Her name is Martha Chizuma. Congratulations to her are in order.
The news that Madame Chizuma has grabbed the job at the bureau is not any shocking. The woman is someone else! She is a golden personality insofar as doing her professional job is concerned. No one can question the merit in her. If her performance as ombudsperson is the yardstick by which to rate her, Madame Chizuma is a star performer; and all factors constant, she will move mountains at ACB.
However, moving mountains is not as easy as it sounds. If I am to quote what Professor Patrick Lumumba said to President Lazarus Chakwera, when he was here in Malawi few days ago, corruption is a dragon that is never easily defeated. When one wants to wipe it way, it grows stronger and fight back. The fight against corruption is not for faint hearted people. To me, what this statement means is that the fight against corruption needs concerted efforts. It is not for only one Martha Chizuma or the Head of State but rather everyone from top to bottom.
Lazarus “Kadingus” Chakwera promises to clean corruption when he was one of the culprits who took advantage of “Duty Free” Privileges
Recently, the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index ranked Malawi on position 129 out of 180 countries where corruption is the worst. This statistics exposes Malawi as red zone in which transparency and accountability for public resources are a hard dream to achieve.
All the same, with the appointment of Madame Chizuma to manage the affairs of the bureau, hope is once again resuscitated that corruption level in the country will lower to the manageable levels; bearing in mind her boldness towards professionalism. It is equally impressive to note that President Chakwera, too, is speaking loudly about defeating the endemic of corruption in Malawi. Speaking, though, is one thing and walking the talk is yet another!
As much as I would not wish to be the modern day Thomas Didymus, what I certainly know is that the kingpins of corruption in the country are now so bitter with the new ACB appointee; bearing in mind her performance track record and now they are busy devising new mechanisms to loophole the new ACB leadership. But let the fight against the vice be a national battle meant for every well rounded Malawian; not only two people, on the account of bailing the nation.
It is no deniable fact that for so many years, Malawi has failed to register noticeable developments because some few selfish individuals have always tactfully planned on accumulating wealth corruptly at the expense of the innocent poor who are yet heavily milked through shameless taxation systems.
Malawi is not a country for the very same few! This country belongs to all and sundry and so let all of us benefit equally from the national cake through modern health systems, excellent education systems, food security, top notch road networks and state-of-the-art public financial management system.
So, Madame Chizuma, please try nothing but doing your job professionally! All the best!
