According to Nyasa Times, a newly released audit has exposed severe financial mismanagement within local councils, revealing that K5.98 billion has vanished through irregular spending. The government is also facing heavy criticism for reportedly paying duplicate salaries to senior executives in State-owned enterprises despite an ongoing national austerity campaign.
Update: In ongoing legal and corruption developments, the Lilongwe Magistrate's Court has rebuked the Anti-Corruption Bureau over its tactics, effectively shielding former Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola from fresh arrests on a new warrant. Nyasa Times reports that the court ordered the agency to use summons instead. Meanwhile, Attorney General Frank Mbeta welcomed a High Court ruling dismissing an injunction against relocating the Malawi Electoral Commission from Lilongwe to Blantyre, explicitly cautioning against what he termed "busybody litigation."
In the media sector, journalists have elected Felix Washon as the new chairperson for the Media Institute of Southern Africa Malawi chapter to serve a three-year term, according to Nation Online and Nyasa Times.