By AARON CHIYANZO
THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) must explain to Zambians why it has kept assets declared by political leaders who filed for the August 12 election a secret when they are supposed to be accessed freely by the public for scrutiny, Citizens Democratic Party (CDP) president Robert Mwanza has said.
Mr Mwanza said declared assets must be freely accessed so that electorates could judge the honesty of leaders seeking public office.
He said it would also end speculation that some political leaders were under declaring their assets.
When contacted, ECZ spokesperson Patricia Luhanga said declared assets were “private.”
Mr Mwanza said citizens must be accorded an opportunity to scrutinise the assets that were declared by all candidates.
He said in an interview that the ECZ as a public institution must not be seen to be shielding criminality.
Mr Mwanza said if there was nothing to hide with regards to assets that were declared by candidates in an election, there was no need keep them a secret from the public.
He challenged the ECZ to explain to the public why the declared assets were being kept a secret from the public.
“Why the secrecy? ECZ should tell us because we do not see any good reason why declared assets should be a secret. The public should be able to scrutinise what is declared,” said Mr Mwanza.
Mr Mwanza demanded that declared assets be published in the media so that all Zambian could access them.
He said there was nothing private when an individual was offering him or herself for service in a public office.
Mr Mwanza said a person who was seeking to offer himself for service in a public office should have nothing to hide.
SECRECY?’
‘WHY THE
disclose declared assets
By AARON CHIYANZO
THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) must explain to Zambians why it has kept assets declared by political leaders who filed for the August 12 election a secret when they are supposed to be accessed freely by the public for scrutiny, Citizens Democratic Party (CDP) president Robert Mwanza has said.
Mr Mwanza said declared assets must be freely accessed so that electorates could judge the honesty of leaders seeking public office.
He said it would also end speculation that some political leaders were under declaring their assets.
When contacted, ECZ spokesperson Patricia Luhanga said declared assets were “private.”
Mr Mwanza said citizens must be accorded an opportunity to scrutinise the assets that were declared by all candidates.
He said in an interview that the ECZ as a public institution must not be seen to be shielding criminality.
Mr Mwanza said if there was nothing to hide with regards to assets that were declared by candidates in an election, there was no need keep them a secret from the public.
He challenged the ECZ to explain to the public why the declared assets were being kept a secret from the public.
“Why the secrecy? ECZ should tell us because we do not see any good reason why declared assets should be a secret. The public should be able to scrutinise what is declared,” said Mr Mwanza.
Mr Mwanza demanded that declared assets be published in the media so that all Zambian could access them.
He said there was nothing private when an individual was offering him or herself for service in a public office.
Mr Mwanza said a person who was seeking to offer himself for service in a public office should have nothing to hide.
