68. Are elected officials required to submit reports regarding their finances?

Zambian law requires all senior officials of the three branches of government (that is, heads of state and government, ministers, members of Parliament, judges, etc.) to disclose records of their assets. The provision is thus broad and applies to all civil servants. Note, however, that this provision only requires public officers to make declarations at two points in time — when assuming office and when leaving. It does not seem to apply fully to those who are already serving, as this provision was not in the earlier constitution. In addition, the constitution requires that all those vying for elective positions of president and vice president [Article 100 (1) (h)], member of Parliament [Article 70(1) (e)] and speaker of the National Assembly [Article 82(2) (f)] declare their assets and liabilities as one of the qualifications. On the other hand, Article 10 of the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct Act requires that ministers, the speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly make annual declarations of assets, liabilities and income to the chief justice. The record is available for inspection by members of public. The law does not provide that disclosures must contain all assets and income belonging to the immediate family, and it doesn’t say that disclosures must be made available to the public.

(See the 2018 Africa Integrity Indicators on Zambian (question 44) available at: https://aii.globalintegrity.org/indicator-details?country=zambia&num=44&year=2018).