Let’s have law mandating President, PSs to declare assets annually

By Daily Revelation Editor

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairperson Musa Mwenye observes that the lack of a legal provision that mandates the Republican President and other office bearers in key public institutions to declare assets annually is abnormal.

“It is absurdity that although the Commissioners and staff at the Anti-Commission are required [by law] to declare assets and liabilities periodically, there is no single requirement for the Permanent Secretaries, Procurement Officials, and Regulatory Officials to declare their assets, [yet] they control millions of dollars of our money. It is a further anomaly that although ministers of government are required to declare their assets every year, there has never been any single statutory requirement for the President of the Republic to declare his/her assets annually. If we are serious about fighting corruption, we must become serious about the declaration framework and lifestyle audit of various officials.”

The observation by Musa is extremely valid and requires everyone’s attention. First and foremost, we wish to remind Hakainde Hichilema that he came into office on the premise of promoting transparency and accountability. In the run-up to the 2021 general elections, Hakainde traversed all corners of this country promising Zambians that his administration shall be an ‘open book’; that nothing will be hidden from them, including his net worth. That Zambians will know his net worth before getting into government and after leaving government.

Zambians thought Hakainde would continue to lead by example. This expectation was based on the pronunciation that his government would be an “open book” as far as transparency and accountability is concerned. It was hoped that the President and his entire administration would be transparent enough to declare their net worth voluntarily without even requiring Zambians to ask.  Alas, this was a deception. We say this because although there is no legal requirement that mandates the president and his officers: for purposes of transparency and accountability, Hakainde should have taken upon himself to lead by example by doing so annually, even monthly or quarterly. This is the only way his team would have followed suit. The people of Zambia need to know the President’s net worth against what he is accumulating annually. This is important because the office of the President is extremely prone to corruption. Currently, there are so many questions bordering on irregularity in his government. The public has demanded accountability on several transactions in government like the US$50 million to a businessman who is said to be linked to the ruling party, something he of course denies. Despite confirming payments as part of what the Ministry says was the fruit of arbitration, the government avoided mentioning the $50 million. One wonders how many businessmen and government officials have benefited from the other government transactions to ‘businessmen.’ There could be other deals taking place at State House which potentially could be enriching people. These deals are swept under the carpet – off the public eye. This is the more reason why Hakainde and the officials serving under him should be regularly mandated to declare assets, and those declarations should be made public so that Zambians can easily scrutnise them.

Zambians need to keep track of the President’s wealth, to ensure that he and his team do not accumulate wealth which is not accounted for. Yes, ministers can declare their assets, but the authority ministers have cannot be compared to that of the president. Precedence has shown that Republican presidents became filthy rich while in office: and much of their wealth is highly questionable. It is unfortunate that our politicians are busy in parliament arguing about useless things, instead of addressing important issues such as the one Musa is raising. The issue of asset declaration is a bi-partisan matter and we expect all legislators to take keen interest. We find it criminal that there is no legal framework that mandates permanent secretaries and procurement officials to declare their assets and liabilities annually, because by virtue of their offices, these people control huge sums of taxpayers’ money.

There is no sector in any country, including Zambia, that controls billions of dollars than the public procurement sector. This is a sector where corruption and bribery thrive; where kick-backs and favours blossom. Over the years, some procurement officers have been taken to the courts of law over corruption charges. Similarly, permanent secretaries are government controlling officers; are chief executive officers for our ministries – mandated to control millions of dollars on behalf of the government and the people of Zambia. It is unacceptable for a country like ours, where corruption is so endemic – to have a free for all permanent secretaries and procurement officers. This system is aiding corruption to flourish. This is why in today’s Zambia, there seems to be more people in public service who are millionaires than those in the private sector. All this points to corruption. We have created such a favourable environment for thieves and criminals to thrive, especially in the public sector.

We totally agree with Musa, that, as a country, we are not serious about the fight against corruption. The corruption crusade by the government is mere lip-service.

One would speculate that the absence of a statutory law could be a deliberate move to pilfer national wealth into private pockets. We say this because, the very time a legal framework was put in place for the Anti-Corruption, and ministers – a similar legal mechanism should have been put in place for the Republican President, permanent secretaries, and all other office bearers in key government institutions. Time is now for parliament to take keen interest in the matter. We see this as a matter of urgency, requiring our legislators to put in place a subsidiary law that will require all these office bearers including the President and his staff at Sate House to be declaring their assets and liabilities every year.

Otherwise, without this important legal framework in place, we are going nowhere as a country, and the fight against corruption will remain academic.