Despite the country signing a number of international agreements, a just-released State of the Union report by Malawi Economic Justice Network (Mejn) and Eye for Development has revealed that poverty and under-development have remained due to failure to implement the various protocols.
The report, released on Tuesday in Lilongwe by the civil society groups, further criticised failure by the government and civil society to bridge the gap between African Union and citizenry.
The report highlights among other things, the country’s failure to domesticate and implement international agreements on mining, corruption, political, economic and good governance plus other general rights.
“Although the ACB (Anti-Corruption Bureau) has been in existence for nearly over 20 years, corruption remains a major obstacle in Malawi’s development. Recent estimates suggest that almost 30 percent of government revenue is lost through corruption. Recently, this has been suggested by news suggesting that billions of taxpayer money has been pilfered from government coffers in the so-called Cashgate,” reads the report.
The report further adds, while the country has ratified 14 of the 16 policy frameworks at continental level, the country the country has failed to demonstrate commitment to follow up on the same by domesticating the agreements.