BLANTYRE, Malawi, July 24 2022 – Chandler Foundation staff travelled to Malawi to meet with His Excellency Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera and participate in and support the National Anti-Corruption Conference. This visit was an outcome of Chandler Foundation CEO Tim Hanstad’s initial meeting with President Chakwera in May at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. There, the President invited the Chandler Foundation to visit Malawi in July.

During the latest meeting, which took place at the Presidential State House in Blantyre, President Chakwera asked the Chandler Foundation and the Chandler Institute of Governance to assist his administration with anti-corruption and civil service reform agendas. The Chandler Foundation put forward a recommendation to advance anti-corruption reform by creating a National Action Plan on Open Government by the end of 2022.

President Chakwera responded favorably to the recommendation. The next day, during a televised speech at the National Anti-Corruption Conference, President Chakwera claimed that his administration “won’t accept corruption or illicit theft of our resources in any form.” He also publicly committed to reactivating Malawi’s participation in the Open Government Partnership, which aims to increase accountability and transparency throughout the government.

“We need the support of the international community in our quest for good governance, because so much of the plunder under our nation involves international transactions and the externalization of our resources,” said the President.

In the same televised speech, President Chakwera referenced his work with the Chandler Foundation, saying that he and CEO Tim Hanstad have “agreed to work together in matters of public sector reform and anti-corruption.”

The Chandler Foundation and Chandler Institute of Governance will continue to support President Chakwera’s administration and the government of Malawi in the future, including through assistance in establishing a school of governance.