Public officials to disclose wealth early 2023

As court gives Government three months to gazette law forcing officials to declare assets

The public will have access to information of what public officials own early 2023 after High Court judge, Justice Jacob Manzunzu ruled that Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and the Attorney General Prince Machaya should gazette a bill compelling government officials to disclose their assets in next three months.

“The first respondent is ordered to gazette the Bill envisaged by section 198 (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe within three months from the date of this order. The first respondent shall pay costs of suit,” read the ruling.

This means that the two should take responsibility to gazette the bill in the first quarter of 2023.

This should give the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and other law enforcement agencies more material to work with on the current drive to clamp down on financial crime through lifestyle audits with some culprits forfeiting millions of dollars’ worth of unexplained acquisitions including vehicles and properties.

Justice Manzunzu found Ziyambi and Machaya are in breach of their constitutional obligations in a case in which Member of Parliament Hon. Allan Markham took them to court seeking an order compelling them to act.

Ziyambi and Machaya were cited as first and second respondents respectively.

Justice Manzunzu reprimanded Ziyambi and Machaya for taking too long to institute the bill that enforces the demands of the Constitution.

“The first respondent’s failure to formulate within a reasonable time a Bill to give effect to the Act envisaged in section 198 (a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe is in breach of section 324 of the Constitution,” reads the ruling.

Markham’s charge was that the two failed to bring about a bill that institutes accountability and is key in efforts to combat corruption by demanding declaration of personal assets for public office bearers,

Creation of such a law is provided by Section 198 (a) of the Constitution which states that states that “an act of parliament must provide measures to enforce the provisions of this Chapter, including measures requiring public officers to make regular disclosures of their assets, establishing code of conducts to be observed by public officers, specifying the standards of good corporate governance to be observed by government controlled entities and other commercial entities owned or wholly controlled by the State, providing for the disciplining of persons who contravene the provisions of the Chapter or any code of conduct or standard”.

Section 198 states:

An Act of Parliament must provide measures to enforce the provisions of this Chapter, including measures—

(a) requiring public officers to make regular disclosures of their assets;

(b) establishing codes of conduct to be observed by public officers;

(c) specifying the standards of good corporate governance to be observed by government-controlled entities and other commercial entities owned or wholly controlled by the State;

(d) providing for the disciplining of persons who contravene the provisions of this Chapter or of any code of conduct or standard referred to in paragraph (b).

Markham had asked that the Bill be gazetted within 45 days but Justice Manzunzu gave the Minister three months, saying the time frame had to be realistic.

Tendayi Biti of Tendai Biti Law Chambers represented the applicant.