DRIVERS OF CORRUPTION AND ANTI-CORRUPTION POLICIES IN MALAWI

Abstract

This article seeks to establish the drivers of corruption in Malawi amidst the plethora of anti-corruption policies and initiatives. It shows that anti-corruption efforts and policies in Malawi can be traced back to the dawn of multi-party system in the early 1990s. It acknowledges the emergence of political will to fight corruption under the leadership of president Bakili Muluzi resulted in the enactment of the Corruption Practices Act (CPA) in 1995 and the establishment of the Anti- Corruption Bureau (ACB). These developments were followed by many other anti-corruption initiatives and policies over the years. However, this article establishes that corruption levels in Malawi have worsened, especially in recent years, despite the country’s many anti-corruption legislation and policies. The article finds that the drivers behind corruption in Malawi are complex and that they involve, among other things, political, structural, economic, and personal motives. Keywords: Collective action, Corruption, Legislation, Principal-agent theory, Public institutions