The Business Action against Corruption initiative in Malawi was last week honoured with the 2nd Prize in the World Bank’s Anti-Corruption Collective Action Competition through a case study submission by one of the pioneering companies in the field – Eastern Produce Malawi Limited (EPM). This is a paramount manifestation of the positive work undertaken by Eastern Produce Malawi Limited as well as the other members of BAAC Malawi since its launch in 2005 in the fight against corruption in the private sector.

The objective of the Award Competition was to identify and share innovative solutions to corruption with multi-stakeholder efforts, known as Collective Action, building on the experience and thinking of practitioners, young professionals, and students that will:

• Highlight the private sector’s constructive role in fighting corruption through multi-stakeholder approaches.
• Present innovative ideas and solutions in the field of multi-stakeholder anti-corruption efforts.

In light of the fact that the organizers received a large amount of submissions, Eastern Produce Malawi Limited and BAAC Malawi can perceive this 2nd price as an indication of its excellence and role as champion in the global field of anti-corruption initiatives.

Eastern Produce Malawi Limited (EPM) is Malawi’s largest tea producer accounting for about 38 percent of Malawi’s total tea output and sets an excellent example of how companies can play a constructive role in fighting corruption.

At the heart of the core business of EPM is a genuine and unique recognition of its complementary role in development of Malawi. EPM has for many years been committed to “doing business in an ethical manner by ensuring that environmental and social concerns are addressed in order to ensure sustainability”. The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) profile of the company is noteworthy; it holds a CSR Office, “return” 1% of its annual profit to community project such as clinics, schools, ambulances and training of clinical staff.

One area in which EPM in particular champions its corporate social responsibility is anti-corruption. Recognizing that corruption is a serious and damaging hindrance to Malawi’s social, economic, political development and to doing business EPM is taken its part of the shared responsibility serious by addressing the issue of corruption within its own business operations and policies as well as in society at large by becoming a member of Business Action Against Corruption (BAAC) in Malawi.

Rick Tilley, Managing Director of Eastern Produce Malawi stresses that “the business coalition under BAAC Malawi can, when joining forces, foster awareness of anti-corruption in more powerful and proactive ways by pushing the Zero Tolerance agenda forward in the business community and society at large”.

To the 2nd price recognition Rick Tilley feels grateful and honoured. It is further his hope for the future that other sectors will apply a similar approach as BAAC Malawi. This would help to boost the anti-corruption efforts in society at large and thereby assist in building an enabling environment where businesses can thrive and the Millennium Development Goals have an increased potential to be achieved in Malawi.

BAAC Malawi is invited to participate in the Executive Development Program on Fighting Corruption through Collective Action in Washington on 8-11 June 2009. For more information please visit: www.fightingcorruption.org