Delegates travel to cancelled Anti-Corruption Day event

Scores of delegates on Wednesday flocked to Mulanje for the commemoration of this year’s Anti-Corruption Day where President Peter Mutharika was expected to attend only to learn that the event had been shifted to December 17.

The postponement of the national event was made at the eleventh hour due to the President’s tight schedule.

Despite the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) stating that it communicated about the postponement in good time, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) kept running adverts for the event in the daily papers until the last day, a development that made delegates go to the venue.

The event was scheduled for Chisitu ground in Mulanje under the theme Patriotism: Key to Fighting Corruption.

Chief Secretary to the Government George Mkondiwa said in an interview yesterday communication about the postponement was sent way back and he was surprised ACB kept on advertising about the event.

He said: “The communication wasn’t made on ninth or eighth or seventh or sixth or fifth. It was way before that.”

ACB spokesperson Egrita Ndala could also not say when the communication from OPC was made, the people were alerted about the postponement of the event and it was also late to stop the adverts in the newspaper.

“We were there and held one of the events, a football match, but we told the people that the function had been postponed to December 17. We also postponed other pre-activities such as debate and bicycle ride.

“For the reasons and when the communication to postpone the event was made, ask the OPC.”

Malawi used to commemorate the National Anti-Corruption Day on February 5, but this year the day was shifted to December 9 to be in line with the International Anti-Corruption Day designated by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2003. n