Issue to be Investigated 🔍🔎
The Alliance for Community Action (ACA) works to strengthen public resource management accountability, in Zambia. In this regard, the ACA, cooperating with other CSOs, advocates for laws to be passed that will strengthen the legislative framework underpinning public resource management and accountability. In connection with this, the ACA Fact Checking Unit has been reviewing the extent to which existent laws that aim to strengthen accountability are adhered to. This fact-check story reports on findings on the extent to which the annual declaration of assets, interests, liabilities, and incomes by Ministers as ordered by the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct, Cap 16 of the Laws of Zambia, is adhered to.
Background
According to the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct, Cap 16 of the Laws of Zambia all Members of Parliament, Cabinet and Speaker of the National Assembly must make annual declarations of their interests, assets, liabilities, and incomes 30 days after their first date of appointment and 30 days after every anniversary. The Act states interalia that:
10 (2) An officer shall- (a) within thirty days after his appointment; and (b) within thirty days after each anniversary of his appointment to the office concerned; submit to the Chief Justice an annual declaration of assets, liabilities, and income in accordance with this section. (3) An annual declaration shall fairly state- (a) the value of the assets (other than personal and household effects) and liabilities of the Officer as at the declaration date; and (b) the total income of the Officer, together with his income from each source, for the twelve months preceding the declaration date.
11. (1) On receiving a declaration of interest under section six or a declaration of assets and income under section ten, the Chief Justice shall cause the particulars of the declaration to be entered in a register. Registration of declarations of interest and of assets (2) The register shall be kept in such form as the Chief Justice approves and shall be made available for inspection by members of the public at all reasonable times.
Process 🔃
Following the review of the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct, Cap 16 of the Laws of Zambia, the ACA Fact-checking Unit wrote to the Registrar of the Supreme Court, on the 7th of October 2019, requesting to inspect the Asset Register.
On the 8th of January 2020, the Registrar of the Supreme Court responded to say that the ACA Fact-checking Unit was at liberty to inspect the register as provided for under Section 11 (1 and 2) of the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct. On the 24th of January 2020, the ACA Fact-checking Unit inspected the Asset Declaration Register for the period 2016 to 2019. The ACA reviewed declarations made by Ministers (Provincial Ministers included), Members of Parliament and the Speaker of the National Assembly over the period 2016-2019. Below are the findings on the Ministers.
Findings 🔎
Below are the facts found on the extent to which Cabinet and Provincial Ministers are adhering to the legal requirement to annually declare their assets:
Finding 1: Low Declaration Among All Ministers 🔎
Only two Cabinet Ministers out of 29 (Minister of Justice, Hon.Given Lubinda and Minister of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs, Hon Lawrence Sichalwe) complied with the law and consistently made declarations in each year under review. Hon. Lubinda declared assets worth K30 million in 2017, K35 million for 2018 and K45 million in 2019, a net gain in assets of about K15 million in 3 years. Hon Lubinda declared income for the 12 month period of 4 million for the year 2017 and 2.6 million for 2018. In the year 2018 Hon Lubinda declared K1.6 million from allowances, K1.5 million from his farm, K940, 000 from his salary and K100,000 from debt recovery.
Hon. Lawrence Sichalwe declared assets worth K2.3 million in 2016, K5.1 million in 2017, K7.07 million in 2018 and about K7.2 million in 2019, a net gain of about K5 million over 4 years.
The figures below show the very low compliance by Cabinet Ministers to the legal requirement to declare their assets annually. An average of 5 out 29 Cabinet Ministers declared their assets in each of the years under review.
Finding 2: Only 1 Minister out of 10 Provincial Ministers Declared Assets Between 2016 and 2019 🔎
Central Provincial Minister, Hon. Sydney Mushanga, was the most consistent Provincial Minister in complying with the legal requirement to declare assets, having made declarations in 3 of the 4 years under review – 2016, 2017 and 2019. No Provincial Minister declared assets in 2018.
Look out for other findings on the Asset Register.
The ACA Fact-checking Unit is part of the European Union funded ‘Ask Project’