The Malawi Anti-corruption Strategy 2 recognizes the youth as one of the 12 pillars that need to contribute to the fight against corruption due to their numerical strength, among others.

However, resource limitations and knowledge gaps are said to be some of the key challenges that need to be addressed if the youth are to effectively help to deal with the vice.

National Youth Anti-Corruption Network general secretary Titus Linzie says while there is great potential for the country’s youths to actively help in the fight against corruption since they are in majority, several factors need to be looked into.

He said, for instance, most of those involved in large-scale corruption are those in authority and those with big financial muscle which he says renders the youth ineffective to take such perpetrators head on since the culprits use their powers and resources to fight back.

 “One major challenge which is affecting our operations are resources. In this case, I mean the majority of us are not economically independent and this makes us easily get carried away with promises by some suspected perpetrators of corruption," said Linzie.

“The majority, if not all those engaging in corrupt practices, are people with money, so when you try to fight them with your limited resources, corruption fights back and this time around with interest, sometimes they use legal threats,” he added.

The network has since recommended introduction of school curricula on corruption to help learners understand its evils and how deal with it.

Blantyre-based Concerned Youth Project Officer Misty Chatha, while concurring with Linzie on the potential of the youth to fight against corruption, said the youth need to be provided with adequate information about public resources and how they are utilized.

Meanwhile, Youth and Society Executive Director Charles Kajoloweka has implored the youth not to look down upon themselves but use their numerical strength to stamp out the vice which he says is posing a serious threat to the country’s economic future.

“There are gaps in different capacity areas, including youth’s urgency to mobilize and push back against abuse of resources both in district councils and national level, but we haven’t done much in terms of the youth pushing back against corruption," said Kajoloweka.

During the commemoration of Malawi Anti-Corruption Bureau’s 25 years of existence early this year, ACB chief Martha Chizuma stressed that the bureau wants to focus more on preventing corruption from occurring in addition to prosecution.