7 000 public officers default assets declaration

At least 7 000 public officers have defaulted assets declaration in the past three years , but have not been punished despite the law prescribing punitive punishments.

The Office of the Director of Public Officers’ Declarations 2021/22 financial year assessment report released last week showed that 3 304 listed public officers (LPO) did not comply.

The number adds to 4 000 others who defaulted in the 2020/21 fiscal year.

Speaking in an interview yesterday after Public Appointments Committee (PAC) of Parliament met National Oil Company of Malawi (Nocma) over its officers non-compliance to the assets law, the directorate’s director Michael Chiusiwa expressed concern over the rising non-compliance to the assets law.

He said the rate at which civil servants are submitting for declarations, there are chances that the default rate will be higher this year than in 2021/22.

Chiusiwa said: “We are now compiling the data to establish who has complied and who hasn’t. We may not say with certainty how the performance is.

“However, looking at how public officers were trickling in to deposit their declarations, we have noted that the political category has done so well. They have submitted en masse.

“But for the civil servants we have noted that they have been trickling in slowly and the possibility of having a reduced number is also there as compared to 2021- 2022.”

The directorate has been targeting to reach 100 percent compliance for declaration.

Chiusiwa said that mostly it is the politicians who are complying with the assets declaration law.

He feared that if the defaulting of assets declaration is connected to abuse of resources or corruption then the country is losing a lot of money.

Chiusiwa said some public officers fear to declare assets because they accumulate wealth illicitly and do not want to be exposed.

He said there are plans to decentralise so that each administrative region has an office for ODPOD for easy depositing of assets declaration.

PAC chairperson Joyce Chisulo urged the need to ensure that defaulting officers are penalised.

She said the matter, the committee is engaging inst i tut ions whos e employees are defaulting.

“We are talking about fighting corruption. Why are people hiding what they have? So, we really need to meet these institutions and, as a committee, agree on the way forward,” Chitsulo said.

However, she said there is need for the law to take its course for those defaulting for no reason.

The Public Officers (Declaration of Assets, Liabilities and Business Interests) Act compels LPOs to declare their assets in the first three months of the year or after occupying a listed position.

Section 18 of the Act, among others, calls for dismissal of listed officers who “without reasonable cause, fail to submit the required declaration.”

The legislation in Section 19 (a) prescribes further punishment: “In the case of failure to submit a declaration, be disqualified from holding a public office for a period of three years.”

In the latest report State-owned enterprises have emerged as major culprits of non-compliance with the assets law.

The report, focusing on 203 institutions earmarked for assessment in the 2021/22 financial year, shows that public officers working at Malawi Housing Corporation, Department of Civil Aviation, Lilongwe Handling Company, National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Public Trust, Nasawa Technical College and Central West Education Division are the worst performers with zero compliance.

Meanwhile, the Department of Statutory Corporations which controls the State enterprises has encouraged the enforcement of the law to ensure that defaulters are punished.

In an interview the Comptroller of Statutory Corporations Peter Simbani said: “The issue is not about what the comptroller is doing to enforce the law because the law is already clear. “If you don’t comply you are supposed to face certain consequences.”