Lawmakers urged to declare assets

Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema is not doing enough to combat corruption, the US ambassador to Zambia has noted in a blistering speech. News24 reports that Michael Gonzales said it was time to force all public officials, and their immediate families, to declare their assets. ‘I would argue that to be effective, we must expand these requirements to include permanent secretaries, directors-general, and all controlling officers and employees managing, responsible for, or involved in public procurement and contracts, he said in an address to the Transparency International Zambia 2023 Anti-Corruption Conference in Livingstone. MPs and the executive are required to declare their income and assets, but many do not. A recent study revealed that only seven of Zambia's 25 Cabinet Ministers and two provincial Ministers have reported their holdings. It is known that spouses and children act as a front to hide illicit assets, said Gonzales, and expanding disclosure requirements to them would strengthen trust in the government.