Capacity Building on Corruption Reporting for Mzimba Journalists
Background
The media plays a crucial role in the fight against corruption as it can demand accountability and
transparency from the public and private sectors (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC), 2023, p1). The media provides information on public and private sector corruption
where governmental or private activity is opaque by design or by default. Investigative journalism, in
particular, plays a crucial role in exposing corruption to public scrutiny and fighting against impunity.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report on
the role of the media and investigative journalism (2018), there is a correlation between press
freedom and corruption. The report highlights that investigative journalism and media reporting on
corruption are fundamentals to ensuring that corruption is brought to light in the media.
A Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International (2022) ranks Malawi on number 110
out of 180 countries in the fight against corruption. This entails that despite concerted efforts, Malawi
has made no significant progress against corruption.
Since the media can inform and educate people about the detrimental effects of corruption, demand
accountability and transparency from the public and private sectors, and expose those involved, the
media increases the political risk of those involved in corrupt practices (UNODC, 2023). Therefore,
in many countries including Malawi, the media can be utilized as a tool to confront unethical people
or practices and may often be the catalyst for a criminal or other investigation.
However, without appropriate tools, the mass media cannot expose corruption and keep a check on
public policies. This calls for a need to provide journalists with the right tools such as training to
strengthen their capacity to report on the malpractice of corruption (OECD, 2018).
Goal and objective of the training
 To enhance the competence of Mzimba journalists in the area of accurate, professional, and
readership-oriented corruption reporting.
 To increase the awareness of the media’s contribution to the promotion of good governance.
Expected results
 Enhanced competence of Mzimba journalists in the area of accurate, professional, and
readership-oriented corruption reporting.
 For instance, reporting with caution on corruption cases knowing that the
perpetrators may be alerted by the reporting.
 Increased awareness of the media’s contribution towards the promotion of good governance.
 Journalists' appreciation of the functions and operations of ACB such as the National AntiCorruption Strategy (NACS) II, Corruption Awareness, red flags of corruption, investigation
processes, and familiarisation with the Corrupt Practice Act.
Innovation
The media has a pivotal role in exposing corruption and its patterns in Malawi. The media is often
referred to as the fourth pillar in democracy and a well-equipped media has the capacity to play a
crucial role in fighting corruption.
Media personnel need to be trained on how they can report professionally since exposing corruption
begins with training journalists and other actors to pursue and correctly handle complex corruption
cases in efforts aimed at promoting transparency and public accountability.
Budget
Hora Press Club consists of 19 members from notable media institutions namely; Mzimba
Community Radio, Voice of Livingstonia, PLFM, Malawi News Agency, Nation Publications
Limited, Times, District Information Office, and Zodiak Broadcasting Station.
This is a membership-based club and it is subjected to growth since some media houses have
expressed their interest to join.
References
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2018, The Role of the Media
and
Investigative
Journalism
in
Combating
Corruption,
OECD
Publishing,
Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/7590ec9d-en.
Transparency International, 2022, Corruption Perception Index.
Available at: 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index - Explore… - Transparency.org
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 2023, Module Series on Anti-Corruption; Module
10 Citizen Participation in Anti-Corruption Efforts. USA: New York; United Nations Publications. Accessible
at: Anti-Corruption Module 10 Key Issues: The role of the media in fighting corruption (unodc.org)