On September 7th, WCO representatives had the pleasure to virtually meet with the newly appointed Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) Commissioner General (CG), Mr. John Biziwick to discuss the WCO's Anti-Corruption & Integrity Promotion (A-CIP) Programme for Customs.

The WCO A-CIP Programme in Malawi is timely, as Mr. Biziwick stated his intention to re-energize and embed integrity within his organization’s culture. Furthermore, the discussions emphasized the fact that all initiatives to fight corruption and promote integrity, including those under the WCO A-CIP Programme, need to be clearly articulated across the administration’s corporate strategy and linked with performance indicators to ensure words convert into concrete actions. The Commissioner General stated that ‘’not only the performance of Internal Affairs must be measured against integrity indicators but the contribution of all areas having an impact on integrity must be assessed as well’’.

Integrity is a responsibility of all, therefore both MRA and the WCO acknowledge the importance of engaging both internal and external stakeholders in a collective action against corruption. In closing, Mr. Biziwick reiterated his support to this important initiative and is looking forward to working with the WCO.

Launched in January 2019, the A-CIP, funded by Norad, responds to the recognized the high costs of corruption in Customs. The Programme aims at improving the business environment for cross-border trade in selected WCO Members by making changes to the operational and administrative context that restricts corrupt behaviour and promotes good governance in customs operations and administration.

For more information about the WCO A-CIP Programme, please visit the WCO A-CIP Programme page, or contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.