By Rick Dzida
Malawians, wake up! The recent collapse of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Director General recruitment process is not an administrative mistake. It is a deliberate sabotage of justice.
The rejection of Acting Director Gabriel Chembezi, former DPP Anthony Kamanga, and public prosecutor Dziko Malunda is a smokescreen.
By tearing up the interview results and forcing a complete restart, the government is playing a dangerous game of delay. They are leaving the country’s most vital anti-graft agency completely toothless. We demand answers, and we demand them now!
How can Gabriel Chembezi continue to sit in the director’s chair when he just failed the interviews?
By falling short, he has proven his incompetence and lack of suitability for the job. Failing this interview is a constructive resignation. Allowing him to remain in office is an insult to every taxpayer.
As a local Lilongwe activist, Gift Mwale is not paranoid to express his sentiments, “Keeping a failed candidate at the helm of the ACB is like hiring a disqualified driver to captain a school bus. It is a blatant delay tactic to keep a government puppet in power while they figure out how to shield their corrupt friends!”
Truth be told , two years is an unacceptably long time to leave the ACB leaderless. Why did the government wait until Martha Chizuma’s contract expired to start looking for a replacement? This entire crisis is a manufactured bottleneck designed to kill institutional continuity.
Faith Chisale, a patriotic citizen from Chinamwali in Zomba, did not mince words, “They knew exactly when Chizuma was leaving. The fact that they did not start the recruitment process early proves they want the ACB to remain weak, blind, and crippled.”
We are sick and tired of backroom political deals. Malawians are legally entitled to know the exact qualifications and scoring criteria used to judge these candidates.
First, we therefore demand a non-negotiable removal of Chembezi immediately and then appoint an untainted, qualified caretaker who did not fail the board interview.
Second, it is imperative with no other options to broadcast the next recruitment cycle live on television and radio for total transparency. If the government has nothing to hide, they must broadcast the process for the whole nation to see.
Third, it is mandatory that selection criteria for the recruitment of the position of ACB director general be published. The exact scoring matrix and qualifications required for the top job should be publicly disclosed.
Lastly but not least, a 30-Day deadline must be set to fast-track the new advertising and shortlisting process to fill the vacancy immediately.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are those of the author not necessarily of The Maravi Post or Editor
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