admin
Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
LEGISLATORS who have not declared their assets in line with the country’s Constitution risk being charged for contempt of Parliament through a planned motion to be tabled in the legislative assembly.
After being sworn in last year, MPs were given up to October 5 that same year to declare their assets in line with the country’s supreme law and Parliament’s Standing Rules and Orders.
In an interview yesterday, African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (APNAC) Zimbabwe Chapter chairperson Mrs Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga said her organ is aware that some legislators in the National Assembly and Senate have not complied with Parliament’s Standing Rules and Orders that they should declare their assets.
“The second thing, Parliament through its Standing Rules and Orders, had obligated every Member of Parliament to declare their assets and we have already done so. But there are other members who have not done so. So they should be held in contempt of Parliament. We are going to be putting up a motion that those members that have not declared their assets be held in contempt of Parliament so that public officials know that when you are asked to do something you should do it,” said Mrs Misihairabwi-Mushonga who is also Bulawayo proportional representation legislator.
She said there is no justification for MPs not to declare their assets unless they want to be involved in shady deals during their time in Parliament.
Mrs Misihairabwi-Mushonga said Section 198 of the Constitution which compels public officials to declare their assets should be complied with and APNAC Zimbabwe Chapter will push for a Bill which will promote accountability among public officers.
She said APNAC was heeding the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) chairperson Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo’s calls that the anti-graft fight should be a collective effort.
The MP said they will be pushing for legislative changes to capacitate institutions like ZACC in fighting corruption.
“We have three main areas that we are going to be looking at. We have the legislative agenda, mainly to do with the preventive side because we think that one of the problems right now is that we are reactive by arresting, by investigating and yet we have not created the necessary legislative framework to ensure that it doesn’t take place,” Mrs Misihairabwi-Mushonga said.
She said arresting corrupt officials is not enough without recovering the stolen assets hence their plan to push for an asset recovery law.
“We are also developing a model law on what we call asset recovery law. Sometimes it’s difficult to convict some of these people but they are known that they would have corruptly obtained the funds. So we want to be talking about a way of asset recovering so that we can recover the money that would have been lost through whatever ways. We want to promulgate the Whistle Blowers Act, which will facilitate for people to be able to speak on issues of corruption. At the moment people are scared. It’s a risk to talk about corruption, there is no protection,” said Mrs Misihairabwi-Mushonga. – @nqotshili
Online Reporter