By Moses Michael-Phiri
BLANTYRE, Malawi
The government of Malawi has come under fire from NGOs and political commentators for closing anti-corruption offices nationwide.
"What the government has done is totally wrong. They have no legal basis to close the offices," University of Malawi law lecturer Mwiza Nkhata told The Anadolu Agency.
Uniformed police officers stormed the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)'s offices in Blantyre on Tuesday, locked their doors, and seized the keys from striking staff members.
Other ACB offices – in the cities of Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Zomba – have also been closed.
ACB personnel have been on strike to demand 70-percent salary increases.
Nkhata, who is the dean of Chancellor College's law faculty, said the office closures lacked any legal basis.
"Even if the government thinks the strike is illegal, police have no mandate to seal offices because it's a labor issue," he explained.
The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace Program (CCJP), a local NGO, warned that the move would lead to a standoff in the ongoing talks over salary increases.
"The office closures will just irritate striking workers and derail the negotiations," CCJP National Coordinator Chris Chisoni told AA.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Lexten Kachama has, however, defended the action, saying it had been aimed at protecting the ACB's property and staff.
"We, as police, have to provide security," he told AA. "Strikes are unpredictable; they can take a turn for the worse."
He asserted that the government was taking precautionary measures so as not to misplace any ACB property or case files.
The bureau is currently examining several high-profile cases involving government officials and civil servants involved in the theft of some $100 million in public funds in a scandal dubbed "Cashgate."
ACB Deputy Director-General Reynack Matemba, for his part, said the government had told the bureau about the office closures.
"ACB management was informed one day before the offices were closed," he told AA.
In an interview conducted late last night, Finance, Economic Planning and Development Minister Goodall Gondwe described the strike action as "unfortunate."
"These people [ACB staff] are among the highest paid public servants," he told AA. "We can't afford to pay them more than anybody else."
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