Assets Declaration
By Dickson Jere
Here is the tip, especially for journalists, on how to follow up on the recent declaration of assets by our leaders. Under the Constitution (as amended in 2016), Presidential and Parliamentary candidates are required to declare their assets and liabilities when filing-in nominations. So, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), has valid nomination papers together with the declaration of assets for all the 156 elected Members of Parliament (MPs) and presidential candidates. Sniff around and access the copies.
Further, when elected as MP, the law – Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct Act – demands that he or she must declare assets and liabilities before the Chief Justice. This includes those holding ministerial posts. Hence the recent declarations by Ministers and MPs.
However, in order to ascertain whether the recent declarations have been exaggerated or not, one need to look at the declaration that were made one year ago when they filed-in nomination. Compare and contrast the two declarations and see if there has been a steady jump within a year. That is where the story is… If one has declared huge cash in bank, did he declare the same when he filed-in nominations last year? Check the discrepancies – if any – and show us the two figures.
You see, the trouble of these declarations is that they are mere selfies – I mean they are self assessments usually done by the persons making the declaration. There lies a big problem! I think the law should be strengthened to make it mandatory that property declarations by leaders should be based on the professional valuation done by the licensed Valuation Surveyors. Financial declarations should be accompanied by the certificate from registered accounting firm. This will help curb the over exaggerating of the declarations.
Self assessment can be confusing. For example, I can value my 1984 Datsun 120Y at K2.5 million because it is an antique or vintage vehicle but the professional valuer may reduce it to mere K300,000 because it is worn out with over 500,000 on the clock…this is why Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) demands Valuation Reports from registered firms when you are selling your property and have applied for Property Transfer Tax. Same with the commercial banks – they will give you list of Valuation Surveyors to pick from and value your property before pledging it as collateral for the loan.
Simply, the Valuation Surveyors are trained to ascertain true value of assets. Even us lawyers, in Court, we file expert Valuation Reports when assessing the value of the property. Sometimes the Court will order that three different reports should be tendered – one from each side – and third by Government Valuation Surveyors.
It cannot be selfies!