By Agness Changala
President Hakainde Hichilema will not be made to declare his assets by wishful thinking of individuals or feeling of emotion by individuals, says Chief government spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa.
And Mweetwa, who is Information minister, said the desire for President Hakainde Hichilema to begin declaring his assets annually, should start with a call for law reform.
Last week, US Ambassador to Zambia Micheal Gonzales urged President Hichilema to declare his assets annually.
Asked by Daily Revelation to react to Ambassador Gonzales’ challenge to the President to declare assets annually, Mweetwa said Gonzales did not challenge the President to declare his assets annually, but merely said it would be nice.
“It would be nice is an encouragement rather than a challenge. Secondly, any desire that the President should begin to declare his assets annually, should start by a call for law reform,” Mweetwa said. “Because the President will not be made to do things just by wishful thinking of individuals or logic, or feeling or emotion by an individual to say president HH should do this. President HH should not do this.”
Mweetwa said if anybody or group of individuals or citizens at large, felt that the President needs to declare his assets, they themselves will begin by making a call to go and amend the Constitution of the Republic of Zambia in the same manner that the citizens called for repeal of the defamation of the President.
“It should be the citizens who must want, so a call of that nature should be made to the citizens to say citizens may consider causing the Constitution or the law to be amended. Not to call someone who is governed by law to begin to do things through wishes. It will not happen because that will degenerate into lawlessness,” Mweetwa said. “Because someone who says HH will declare and if what he is doing is not backed by law, next time someone will call for something else which is not backed by law because it would be nice that …that’s anarchy that’s lawlessness yes.”
Mweetwa said a call for anything progressive should be anchored on law reform.
He said the government does not make laws on its own, adding that laws are made by the citizens through the government.
“All I am saying is that the government should not take the lead in formulation of law. Citizens should take the lead by calling for such amendment,” said Mweetwa.”It is only at the time when citizens have called for an amendment and the government remains adamant when we can begin to say is the government not going to do this? Otherwise, if anything, that any individual calls for, the government amends, how many laws are we going to amend?”
Speaking at the Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) 2023 Anti-Corruption Commission conference, Gonzales said the purpose of asset declarations was to prevent corruption by public officials and make it easier to hold those who do engage in public corruption to account.
