People from all walks have unanimously agreed to tackle Ethics as a kingpin in tangible national development. The sentiments were expressed on Friday night of 18 July 2025, when Engineer Vitumbiko Mumba delivered a keynote public lecture at Blantyre’s Comesa Hall titled “Code of Ethics in Malawi’s Construction Industry.”
Mumba, who is also Minister of Trade and Industry in President’s Chakwera’s cabinet described the construction sector as “the backbone of national development,” urging that it must operate with integrity, transparency, and professional ethics. He therefore decried the lack/absence of ethics in most professional bodies that operate in the construction industry in Malawi.
Mumba highlighted the need to challenge unethical conduct in the construction industry and rebuild public trust in the industry “brick by brick”, by among other things ensuring that professional bodies adopt and enforce codes of ethics. He bemoaned lack of discipline mechanism for wayward behavior involving professionals like engineers, architects and quantity surveyors which he said not only erodes public trust but also cost the public through repair costs for their vehicles or on poorly constructed infrastructure.
The event, which was designed as a call to action, attracted religious leaders, business captains, students from Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), contractors, engineers and civic leaders to initiate ethical transformation in Malawi’s construction industry.
On his part, Ass. Prof. Burnet Mkandawire, who is Dean of School of Engineering at MUBAS, noted that the public lecture has come at a good time when the engineering profession must reflect on its contribution to national development. He further noted that the School of Engineering has mainstreamed ethics in its curriculum as a means of addressing a critical disconnect between knowledge and practice by engineering professionals.
A representative of the National Construction Industry Council (NCIC), Mr. Lyford Gideon, applauded the Minister for the public lecture noting that it is a discussion that the country should be having. He bemoaned lack of morality in business practices as evidenced by NCIC’s recent deregistration of several construction companies for unethical conduct.
The public lecture was spiced up by performances by Manyasa Banda, students from MUBAS and other artists.
