The mighty and now defunct Special Branch, a secret security service department, which was within the Malawi Police Force focused much of its resources in chasing after the so – called dissidents of the then one party-led government in Malawi.
To those who were part of the system, this was not unethical since, during that era, intelligence had a few consumers of its products. During the era, customers of intelligence were categorised into two traditional groups, that is, military and national leadership. Therefore, sympathisers of the old regime believed that it was essential for the Special Branch to monitor the activities of those people who disagreed with the leadership style of the day. The secret agents were then able to collect intelligence information which helped to protect the national leadership.
However, nowadays the situation is different in that, the number of consumers of intelligence has increased. In this century, consumers of intelligence products include private firms which are particularly interested in commercial/ economic intelligence. This is so because such intelligence helps them to have an edge over their competitors.
With these diverse consumers of intelligence, it is indeed true that intelligence can be used to rejuvenate the country’s ailing economy.
Firstly, it is good for intelligence to be attending multilateral meetings and to accompany very, very important people (VVIPs) on external trips but it is more rewarding for a national intelligence to focus on the collection and analysis of economic intelligence. In this light, there is need for our esteemed national intelligence to consider adopting business re-engineering technique with a view to change its structure and functions. This positive move might help Lilongwe to consider deploying professional spies to strategic foreign missions especially this time when our government has focused on deploying competent public officers to market the Warm Heart of Africa as an attractive tourist destination.
Secondly, with globalisation, there are a number of foreign markets where the country’s private firms can consider to enter after a thorough assessment by our intelligence cadres in order to bring the much needed foreign currency. For instance, the country’s private enterprises can invest in the former Soviet Union colonies in Eastern Europe which have big markets due to a number of factors.
Thirdly, our national intelligence can also help to transform the country’s economy for the betterment of all Malawians by complementing the work of the Competition and Fair Trade Commission (CFTC). The CFTC has statutory powers, among others, to carry out investigations in relation to the conduct of business so as to determine whether any enterprise is carrying out anti-competitive practices or unfair trading practices like collusive tendering and bid – rigging. An intelligence service can help the CFTC in identifying enterprises which engages in anti-competitive practices in order to have unfair advantage over their competitors. This could help all players in the private sector to have equal opportunities to do business with the government which is the biggest business partner for the private sector.
Fourthly, a secret security service has also an obligation to assist the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) in unearthing uncharted routes and smuggling syndicates as a way of combating corruption and tax evasion so that the revenue collection body must be able to meet the set targets. It is a known fact that our friends who are known best for using discreet means to achieve their goals have an added advantage. Therefore, the intelligence service can be appropriate helpers of this public institution which is legally mandated to get a share of our financial resources. In this respect, it is not too late for the country’s spies outfit to build a workable rapport with the MRA in order to perfect the latter’s objectives and also fight corruption and tax evasion.
In addition to the above, corruption and fraud will remain a big challenge in this country if the national intelligence cannot be proactive. The negative effects of these unethical practices in Malawi need not to be over-emphasised since it is an open secret that the current government has been failing to deliver sound and effective public services to the general public such as the provision of better medical services and learning materials in public schools. Experience has shown that most state organs in the country rely on whistle – blowing and internal auditing to expose corruption. But it is high time the national intelligence employs a proactive approach other than being reactive in the fight against this evil which causes considerable social and economic harm, so that it must be able to predict and forestall corrupt acts. The intelligence must have in place effective systems to enable it analyse and interpret corruption intelligence thoroughly which could in turn be provided to various investigative and enforcement agencies to help in the identification and prosecution of perpetrators.
Fifthly, our secret agents can help to assist in revamping the country’s economy through collaborating with other stakeholders in the fight against wildlife crime. A number of social commentators have suggested that tourism could be an alternative to tobacco which is currently giving sleepless nights to our hardworking farmers due to unfair prices being offered at the auction floors, only if sound and effective strategies and policies could be put in place. However, of late reports of Ivory smuggling involving some of our friends from the East have been disturbing. Wildlife crime has emerged as a serious threat to the growth and promotion of tourism industry which must be dealt with urgently through coordination and collaboration of all the stakeholders in the fight against wildlife crimes. Poaching undermines good government plans and fuels the spread of illicit practices in that it provides sources of revenue for transnational criminal organisations, violent armed groups, and militias. In this regard, the need for the national intelligence to prioritise the inclusion of activities in its operations, which shall help to curb wildlife crimes in the interest of the country’s economy and international peace need not overstated.
Lastly, instead of the national intelligence agency to be wasting the tax payers’ money by monitoring the activities of people who are not threats to national security, it can also help the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) in preventing people of this country from accessing counterfeit products which are hazardous to their precious lives.
For the above stated changes to be implemented there is need for political will on the part of the government; and visionary managers to manage the national intelligence service. Without transformational and servant leadership, all the ideas that have been discussed in this paper cannot be executed effectively and efficiently, they will remain mere dreams. It should be emphasised that for any organisation both in the private and public sectors to be successful it must be managed by managers who lead by example, that is, who try their best to be what they want their subordinates to be. In other words effective leaders try to match between what they demand of their juniors and what they demand of themselves.
Leave a Reply