Claim being checked: Can citizens check declarations of the assets, interests, liabilities, and income of Members of Parliament and Ministers at the National Assembly and the Electoral Commission of Zambia?
Background: On the 25th of March 2022, the Alliance for Community Action (ACA) Fact-checking Unit inspected the Asset Declaration Register at the Supreme Court for the period 12th of August 2021 to the 9th of March 2022.
The ACA reviewed declarations made by Cabinet and Provincial Ministers, the Vice President of the Republic of Zambia, the Speaker of the National Assembly, and selected Members of Parliament. The ACA then published a story entitled “Have all Ministers Declared their Assets and Liabilities per the Law?”
The story was published on the 30th of March 2022, and it revealed that at the time, only 7 ministers had filed at least one requirement of their statutory declarations: assets, liabilities, interests, and income as required by law.
However, speaking at the National Endowment for Democracy Forum in Lusaka organized by the Non-Governmental Gender Organization Coordinating Council (NGOCC), Minister of Justice Mulambo Haimbe advised that people demanding to know the assets and liabilities of Members of Parliament and Ministers had three offices they could check the Office of the Speaker of the National Assembly, The Electoral Commission of Zambia and the Chief Justice.
He said one of those offices could have received from the elected officials the declaration of assets forms otherwise they could not have been allowed to contest the 12th of August 2021 general election.
The specific claim being checked: “People can check the assets of Members of Parliament and Ministers with the Speaker of the National Assembly, Electoral Commission of Zambia, or the Chief Justice.” -Mulambo Haimbe, Minister of Justice.
Source: Diamond Television Zambia Facebook Page – https://fb.watch/cMHw7aXJ5a/
Verification Procedure: On the 5th of April 2022, the ACA Fact-checking Unit wrote to the Clerk of the National Assembly and the Chief Electoral Officer of the Electoral Commission of Zambia, requesting information and access to the declarations of assets, interests, liabilities, and income for Members of Parliament and Cabinet. The Clerk of the National Assembly and the Chief Electoral Officer of the Electoral Commission of Zambia responded on the 25th and 27th of April 2022 respectively.
Findings: The National Assembly indicated that they do not receive or keep members’ declarations of assets, interests, income, and liabilities because no law requires the National Assembly to receive or keep records declared by members.
The National Assembly only encourages Members to comply with section 10 (2), (b) of the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct Act, Chapter 16 of the Laws of Zambia, which states that an officer shall submit to the Chief Justice an annual declaration of assets, liabilities, and income.
The response to the ACA reads in part, “the National Assembly does not receive or keep Member’’ declarations of assets, income, and liabilities.”
For their role, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) indicated that the institution receives statutory declarations of assets and liabilities of aspiring Members of Parliament during the nomination process.
The legal requirements for the declarations of assets and liabilities as provided for under Article 70(1)(e) of the Constitution of Zambia which provides that for a person to be eligible to be elected as a Member of Parliament, that person must declare that person’s assets and liabilities.
The process is further prescribed in Regulation 12 (3)(a) of the Electoral Process (General) Regulations of 2016 which states that for a person to be elected as a Member of Parliament, the person must submit to the returning officer a declaration of assets and liabilities.
The declaration of assets and liabilities with the ECZ is through filling a statutory form called Gen 5 attached to the affidavit accompanying the nomination papers. The submission of the Gen 5 form is provided under Regulation 12 (3)(a) of the Electoral Process (General) Regulations of 2016 and the form is contained in the schedule of Regulations of 2016.
With regards to the public being able to inspect the declarations, Regulation 22, the law provides for the inspection of the nomination paper by a person registered in a constituency, district, or ward before the poll is conducted at the office of the returning officer. There is no further avenue for citizens to inspect the declaration made to the ECZ.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the National Assembly does not receive or keep members’ declarations of assets, interests, income, and liabilities. On the other hand, declarations made to the ECZ are only for nomination purposes during elections.
It, therefore, means that Members of Parliament and Ministers cannot fulfill their obligations of making annual declarations through the two offices as claimed by Mr. Mulambo Haimbe.
Therefore, the claim by the Minister of Justice that the public can check declarations by public officers with the Speaker of the National Assembly or the Electoral Commission is FALSE.
The ACA Fact-checking Unit is part of the European Union-funded ‘Ask Project’