APM, Chilima, declare assets

Malawi’s elected leaders—including President Peter Mutharika and his deputy Saulos Chilima—have started depositing their declared assets with Parliament, Nation on Sunday has established.
But the envelopes containing the declarations will remain sealed until the Office of the Director of Public Officer’s Assets, Liabilities and Business Interests Declarations becomes fully functional.
Apparently the assets tsar, Chris Tukula, is yet to be allocated an office and just drops in at Parliament once in a while if there is a meeting to attend then leaves soon after.
According to information we have gathered, President Mutharika presented his assets declaration forms on Wednesday while Vice-President Chilima has also done so.
Presidential press secretary Frederick Ndala confirmed that Mutharika presented his asset declaration forms to Parliament, saying he was trying to fulfil his obligations.
“It is up to the director to make the assets public,” Ndala said.
The Vice-President’s press officer, Pilirani Phiri, also confirmed in an interview yesterday that Chilima presented his assets papers on Thursday.
Speaker of the National Assembly Richard Msowoya also confirmed that envelopes containing the forms of declaration of assets have started reaching Parliament.
Parliament announced the hiring of lawyer Tukula as the director in the Office of the Director of Public Officer’s Assets, Liabilities and Business Interests Declarations, which is expected to start receiving declarations of assets.
In an interview on Thursday, Tukula said while he has officially started work, the declarations are yet to reach his desk because he has no office to operate from at the moment.
He said he expects all elected leaders to have declared their assets by the end of 90 days after election as the law was still in operation despite the fact that his office was vacant during the period.
Tukula said he will write those that were supposed to declare their assets reminding them of their obligations.
He, however, said he does not expect to immediately punish those that will not declare their assets by the deadline as they would benefit from the transitional period that will be introduced due to the late appointment of the director.
Tukula, however, said Section 25 of the Asset Declaration Act (2013) gives power to the director to set the time within which serving officers shall be required to submit their declarations.
“This section was included to take care of the transition to the new set up,” he said.
On making the assets public, Tukula said he would do so on request.
Early this month, a public law scholar warned of power vacuum in Malawi if public officers, including the President, failed to declare their assets by August end.
While Parliament’s Public Appointments and Declaration of Assets Committee said officials awaited appointment of an assets director to disclose their wealth, academic Danwood Chirwa argued that the wait was needless and would only bring a constitutional crisis.
“If no public officer makes a declaration, there will be a major constitutional crisis. Not only will the whole Cabinet be liable to prosecution, dismissal and disqualification from holding public office for three years, the whole Parliament will be similarly affected,” aired Chirwa, head of University of Cape Town’s Public Law Department.
The South Africa-based Chirwa, responding to an e-mail questionnaire, said the Republican Constitution already empowers the Speaker to receive declarations; hence, the need to comply before the expiry of the three months window, which is expected to expire August end. n