It shouldn’t be too hard to simply state one’s assets before voters

 By Daily Revelation Editor

Transparency International Zambia (TI-Z) has urged presidential candidates to emulate Citizens First (CF) leader Harry Kalaba by publicly stating their assets and liabilities which they declared with the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) when filing their nominations.

Kalaba in a recent interview with Daily Revelation disclosed that he declared assets worth K58 million to the ECZ.

He said it was only fair for him to do so before his bosses the Zambian people to show them that he had nothing to hide in the event they entrusted him with public office.

Kalaba said he wanted to restore back integrity to public office, by assuring Zambians that he would work to serve their interests from the very first day in office, rather than stealing their time by concerning himself with the accumulation of wealth once they vote for him.

“Yes, we have declared before the ECZ but that’s quiet declaration,” said Kalaba.

He urged other presidential candidates in the upcoming elections to do the same as a way of showing transparency, even in the absence of a law compelling them to, rather than hide under the protection of the ECZ.

But in response, Chief Communication Specialist Clayson Hamasaka said Kalaba would not compel the Head of State to publicly state his assets and liabilities.

But responding to Hamasaka, TI-Z acting executive director Raymond Mutale stated that while there was no law that required them to publicly declare their assets, declaring their assets publicly would provide an additional layer of transparency and demonstrate a willingness to be held accountable by the electorate. 

Another important piece of contribution came from former TIZ president Reuben Lifuka, who posting in the comments section on the Daily Revelation Facebook page on the story where State House reacted to Kalaba, stated: “And why does he have to wait to be compelled by anyone to disclose his assets, incomes and liabilities? This should be a standard practice for any leader who wants to run an open and transparent government.”

He stated that the essence of assets, incomes and liabilities declarations goes beyond the legal imperative, it is about ethical leadership.

He stated that in any case, the international anti corruption conventions like UNCAC and specifically Articles 7 and 8, mandated States Parties to establish asset and interest disclosure systems to prevent conflicts of interest and detect illicit enrichment. 

“Zambia as a signatory to this convention is expected to domesticate these international and regional conventions. The President and his party knew about the inadequacies of the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct Act as well as the limitations of the Electoral Process Act while in opposition. Surely nothing stopped them from urgently bringing amendments to the laws to ensure greater transparency among electoral candidates,” Lifuka stated. “The presidential candidates are seeking to be employed by Zambians in this lofty position of authority, why should we not know if a candidate, for instance, has significant liabilities which could make him or her vulnerable to corrupt tendencies? The position of president is the highest in the land and the level of scrutiny should be high enough.”

We agree that while it is a legal requirement to declare the assets and liabilities to ECZ, there is nothing actually stopping the aspirants from actually showing transparency to their bosses in as far as their assets and liabilities are concerned. We view the same actually as a moral aspect on the part of the candidates in so far as transparency and accountability are concerned.

We don’t even view the same as a matter worth debating really. Just as it was wrong under the late president Edgar Lungu to keep the declarations ‘secretly’ from the public, so do we view it wrong that the same wrong has been perpetuated under the UPND administration. It is also wrong that most of those who are seeking to take over publicly office, can’t simply voluntarily come forward and declare their assets and liabilities. They surely can’t hide under the guise that they are not compelled by law to do so, and rest in the comfort of having the same declared behind the ‘ECZ curtains.’ They must voluntarily state their assets before Zambians. Zambians want to hear President Hakainde Hichilema taking the lead to do so. They want to hear Brian Mundubile, Fred M’membe, Brian Mushimba, Kelvin Bwalya Fube, and many others coming forward and voluntarily doing so.

Lifuka asked a very important, stating: “Why just declare to ECZ like the people there are the ones who are going to vote for the candidates? We talk about manifestos- yes but we vote for human beings (with all their flaws) to implement these manifestos and we should know who they are and their credentials.”