UNIMA Academics at Anti-Corruption Conference

Academics at the University of Malawi contribute to various developments in the nation in different ways. Some of these include participating in the government’s efforts to fight the evil of corruption. One of the most recent of these efforts was witnessed during the National Anti-Corruption Conference, which was held from 25th to 26th July 2022 at Mount Soche Hotel in Blantyre. Among the UNIMA academics who took part at the conference were Professor Happy Kayuni (PAS Department), Dr. Edister Jamu (Psychology Department), and Dr. Boniface Dulani (PAS Department).
During the conference, Prof. Kayuni was part of a panel discussion at the conference, whose theme was “Resetting the nation’s moral tone”. Other members of the panel were Ms. Colleen Zamba, Secretary to the President and Cabinet; Dorothy nyaKaunda Kamanga, Justice of Appeal and Mr Jimmy Lipunga, former CEO Private Public partnership. As a member of the panel, Prof. Kayuni explained what is meant by morals, distinguishing the term from ethics and values.
“Values such as honesty, integrity, friendship, commitment form our personality types or identity,” he explained. “When these values are shared by others in our community, they are known as morals. In other words, they become a belief system. Ethics are basically an institution’s attempt to regulate behavior with rules based on a shared moral code. Violating ethics has the same consequence as breaking a rule, while violating one’s morals results in personal guilt and shame.”
Prof. Kayuni also observed that since 1994, Malawi has undergone transition without transformation. There is a lot of rhetoric about rights, at the expense of responsibilities, which ultimately affects moral principles in the country. He noted that corruption is still on the rise.
Dr. Jamu and Dr. Dulani were members of the academia who took part in the drafting of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy II. During the conference, various sectors of the society made commitments to the anti-corruption campaign in the country. Representing the academic pillar, Dr. Jamu signed the commitment statement by the academic body, and presented the document to His Excellency the State President, Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera. The commitment states that the academia will, among other strategies, conduct localized workshops and awareness targeting staff, students and communities, disseminate research findings on governance, and review the governance and corruption perception survey tools.