MPs get clean bill on assets declaration

The Office of the Director of Public Officers’ Declarations (Odpod) has given members of Parliament a clean bill of health after recording a 100 percent compliance in assets declarations during the financial year 2021/2022.

This is the first time legislators have been rated highly on compliance since Odpod started administering declarations in 2014 and amid unresolved cases of 11 noncompliant parliamentarians.

The 11 legislators, five independents, three from Democratic Progressive Party, two for Malawi Congress Party  and one from UTM Party, failed to declare their assets, liabilities and business interests within 90 days after assuming their offices in 2019.

According to Odpod’s Annual Declarations Report for the 2021/2022 financial year, the submission status indicates the Presidency (President Lazarus Chakwera and Vice-President Saulos Chilima), Cabinet ministers and the MPs recorded a 100 percent compliance rate.

The Presidency, Cabinet, MPs, leaders of political parties represented in Parliament and ward councillors are classified as Listed Public Officers (LPOs) under the political category. 

Odpod says the 30 LPOs under the Presidency and Cabinet as well as the 193 parliamentarians, including those who are Cabinet ministers, accounted for changes made to their previous declarations during the year while those that just assumed duties submitted their initial declarations within the stipulated three months.  

However, the politically exposed category failed to achieve a 100 percent compliance rate after seven ward councillors failed to comply.

There are 463 ward councillors from 35 councils across the country but 456 of them complied, translating to a 98 percent compliance rate.

While the rest of the councils scored 100 percent conformity rate, M’mbelwa registered 95 percent, Blantyre District Council recorded 93 percent, Balaka District Council got 86 percent while Karonga District Council and Kasungu Municipal Council attained 80 and 78 percent compliance rate, respectively.

Odpod attributed the high compliance rate to the intervention by the Parliamentary Monitoring Committee (PMC), which summoned every defaulting LPO under the political category to defend themselves during the 2020/2021 declaration period.

The role of the PMC is drawn from Section 213 (4) of the Constitution, as read with Section 13 (2) (b) (c) of the Public Officers (Declaration of Assets, Liabilities and Business Interests) Act.

The committee comprises three parliamentary committees of Public Appointments (PAC), Legal Affairs and Budget and Finance and serves all LPOs regardless of the branch of government an officer belongs to.

In an interview, PMC chairperson Joyce Chitsulo said her committee was delighted to have for the first time achieved the 100 percent compliance rate.

“So, this will take us to the next phase which is the verification exercise. Yes, they have submitted the forms but we will have to physically check and verify whether the information they gave us is true or not. It’s one thing to fill the forms and another to write the truth,” said Chitsulo, who is also chairperson of PAC.

However, she expressed discontent with the performance of other LPOs especially in State-owned enterprises that have emerged as major culprits of non-compliance with over 10 registering zero compliance.

Overall, the Odpod says it earmarked 14 227 LPOs drawn from 203 public institutions.

But during the year under review, 3 304 LPOs defaulted while in the preceding financial year, 4 000 did not comply.

PMC has since started summoning controlling officers of the institutions that failed to comply with the law.

On his part, Leader of Opposition Kondwani Nankhumwa commended his fellow MPs and other LPOs for setting a good example of accountability.

“As elected members and representatives of the people, we need to be exemplary and the first ones to submit to the highest measure of integrity and public accountability before we begin to call on others to do the same,” he said.

However, Nankhumwa stressed the need to fix the obvious gaps existing in the assets declaration law which are affecting enforcement on non-compliant LPOs.

“Let us give the Odpod director more powers, including prosecutorial powers, so that those who don’t comply, including MPs, can be removed from their positions,” he stressed.

While applauding LPOs under the political category for setting the pace, public finance management expert Amon Mluwira said it was too early to celebrate as there is need to put in place strict measures to sustain compliance.

“It won’t make sense to have 100 percent this year and then drop in the next. The compliance means there will be that kind of confidence with those LPOs and sets a very good precedent as far as compliance with the Act is concerned.”

Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willy Kambwandira said it was encouraging that the Presidency and other elected leaders were leading by example.