Operationalization of beneficial ownership disclosures (MW0011)

1. What problem does the commitment aim to address?

The commitment seeks to address corruption in public procurement processes and service delivery. BO disclosure is limited or non-existent across various business sectors, including the extractive industries, making it difficult to track the actual owners of businesses and assets.

Often, beneficiaries of public procurement are masked in private entities and may include individuals that have inside information, conflicts of interest and are by law and good ethical conduct, not supposed to directly benefit from public procurement due to the positions they hold in the public service or political space.

This lack of transparency fuels corruption and undermines public trust. While institutions like PPDA, the DRG and others have taken steps to integrate procurement and business registration systems, fragmentation persists. This limits enforcement, delays BO verification and compromises oversight. Further, citizens and watchdog groups struggle to access and verify BO information due to cumbersome systems and limited institutional capacity.

2. What are the causes of the problem?

The causes of this problem include:
(a) Absence of specific legislative provisions: There is no law/legislation requiring mandatory re-registration of companies. It is still in draft form and requires passing the Bill to enforce mandatory re-registration including regular updates of beneficial owners of businesses and companies engaged in public procurement. On the other hand, synergies between BO regulations and asset recovery processes are inadequate, making it difficult to reclaim illicitly acquired wealth.
(b) Limited integration of BO registries across key sectors: The MANEPS and the Malaŵi Business Registration System (MBRS) are integrated to facilitate the publication of BO information. However, there is limited integration of BO registries across key sectors such as extractives and other industries, leading to fragmented data and inefficiencies. In addition, coordination among governance institutions responsible for implementing BO regulations is weak, leading to inconsistencies in enforcement.
(c) Institutional capacity gaps of oversight and governance agencies: There are human, technical and financial capacity gaps at institutions, such as the FIA, ACB, and DRG, to better understand and enforce the rule of law to strengthen investment oversight.
(d) Cumbersome process of accessing information and improved verification systems: When seeking BO details, it is difficult to determine who owns a contract. For example, extracting digital information on beneficial owners upon request is a complex and time-consuming process. Additionally, the system is not user-friendly, and this has contributed to the reluctance of companies to reregister, which has been compounded by the absence of a specific law to do so. Some companies have shown resistance to re-register because there are no incentives or sanctions for companies to register their BO information, posing a compliance challenge. Furthermore, whilst updates have been made to Standard Bidding Documents (SBDs) to incorporate BO requirements, accessing this information remains cumbersome.
(e) Underutilization of PPDA Portal: The PPDA portal is not fully utilized to enforce BO regulations, resulting in limited transparency in procurement processes.

Commitment Description

1. What has been done so far to solve the problem?

The previous NAP laid the foundation for beneficial ownership disclosure (BOD) through regulations. Currently, MANEPS and the MRA system are all integrated with the MBRS. In addition, an Open Ownership assessment was done on the effectiveness of BODs in Malaŵi, and resources have been secured to review the laws and upgrade the MBRS. Beneficial Ownership Regulations under the Companies Act, 2013 were published in 2022. These Regulations lay a foundation for other regulations on BO.

2. What solution are you proposing?

The Government commits to implementing the following reforms that will operationalize BODs.
(a) Update/review BO regulations to align them with international standards on BO.
(b) Strengthen the institutional set up of the DRG to coordinate and enforce the BO system by operationalizing the Companies Registration and Intellectual Property Centre Bill, 2025 to make the DRG an autonomous entity.
(c) Establish information-sharing standards for system integration.
(d) Finalize the development of the beneficial ownership module and guidelines within the MBRS.
(e) Carry out proactive disclosure, periodic review and awareness to facilitate access to information: Publish BO information, specifically on OCDS portal, to enhance transparency and public monitoring. Open contracting can help publish information about the beneficial owners of companies awarded contracts. This approach allows the public to easily identify any potential fraud or irregularity in the procurement process.
(f) Enhance effective monitoring mechanisms, partnerships and coordination to ensure that BOD commitments are being implemented effectively, progress is being tracked and that there is compliance and accountability. This requires partnering with oversight entities such as the ACB, OoO, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and CSOs to assist in monitoring, advocacy and awareness. Collaboration with anti-corruption agencies and international organizations, such as Open Contracting Partnership, is crucial for strengthening BO transparency and peer-learning. Frequent roundtable meetings and information sharing between all stakeholders (PPDA, MRA, ACB, DRG, PPPC, etc.) are essential to ensure smooth coordination and to address delays.
(g) Sanction non-compliant companies by enforcing penalties, such as debarment from public procurement for non-compliance, to compel companies to re-register.
These reforms build on existing infrastructure but go further by establishing clear mandates, timelines, and enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance and coordination.

3. What results do we want to achieve by implementing this commitment?
This commitment aims to achieve the following outcomes:
(a) Fully implemented and enforced BO laws.
(b) Created a user-friendly, integrated and publicly accessible BO registry.
(c) Improved inter-agency data sharing and monitoring.
(d) Strengthened institutional capacity at the DRG.
(e) Increased public awareness and compliance among companies. (
f) Enhanced accountability for non-compliance through sanctions, audits, and oversight.
(g) Ensured BO data is available for use in procurement screening and public oversight. These reforms will lead to greater transparency and accountability in the award of contracts, prevent hidden conflicts of interest and deter illicit financial flows.

1. How is this commitment relevant to MW2063?

MW2063 acknowledges that corruption in the country has contributed to poor public finance management that has resulted in the abuse of resources that could have been used to advance Malaŵi’s development agenda. The national vision aspires to continue efforts to curb corruption and improve public finance management while harnessing the gains from improvements made in the rule of law. Through Enabler 2: Effective Governance Systems and Institutions, Malaŵi seeks to strengthen openness, transparency and accountability in public and private institutions; reduce and eradicate corruption. This is expected to be realized by ensuring that corruption combating agencies and governance watchdogs are guaranteed the requisite independence and adequate resources necessary for executing their mandates efficiently and effectively. Relevant institutions should be equipped with the capacity to detect cases and investigate allegations of unjust enrichment, abuse of office and corruption.
The target is to rank top 20 in the world on both the corruption and doing business indicators by 2063. In 2019, Malaŵi ranked 31 out of 100 on the Corruption Perception Index and in 2025, it ranked 34 out of 100 meaning that Malaŵi ranks 107 out of 180 countries.1

2. How will the commitment promote transparency?

The commitment promotes transparency by mandating the public disclosure of BO information and publishing it through the OCDS portal. It also upgrades digital systems like the MBRS to facilitate access and retrieval of ownership data, making it easier for government, civil society and citizens to track who benefits from public contracts.

3. How will the commitment help foster accountability?

Accountability will be improved through regular audits, mandatory reporting and stronger institutional mandates for enforcement. Companies that fail to disclose BO information will face penalties, including debarment from public procurement. Public officials will be held responsible for failing to enforce rules, and lifestyle audits will be used to uncover hidden gains. Collaborative monitoring platforms with CSOs and oversight agencies will ensure continued compliance and accountability.

4. How will the commitment improve citizen participation in defining, implementing, and monitoring solutions?

Citizen participation will be fostered through awareness campaigns and engagement with civil society partners. CSOs will participate in advocacy, oversight, and public monitoring efforts, while the government will be expected to publish regular updates and maintain open channels for feedback. This creates space for citizens to both shape and scrutinize reforms.

Milestones
Expected Outputs | Expected Completion date

Enhance the regulatory framework to regulate BO disclosure
Beneficial Ownership Regulations, 2022 updated/ reviewed | December 2026
Beneficial Ownership Regulations, 2022, and the Public Procurement and Disposal Regulations synchronized | December 2026
BO laws implemented and enforced | December 2028
Access to Information Act, 2016 enforced to ensure that BO information is publicly
accessible | December 2028

Enhance usage of BO digital platform
BO Registry and information system upgraded and integrated to enhance access to information for key actors that use the information related to BO | July 2026
PPDA Portal awareness and utilization increased | December 2028

Autonomy of the Department of the Registrar General
Companies Registration and Intellectual Property Centre Bill, 2025 operationalized | December 2025