Mutharika, Chimulirenji declare assets: Malawi MPs have September 18 as deadline to state their wealth

President Peter Mutharika and vice president Everton Chimulirenji have declared their assets with the office of the director of Declaration of Assets.

The office deputy director Michael Chiusiwa has confirmed this, saying the law gave them up to August end to declare their assets after their election to their respective high offices of the land.

“All members of parliament are supposed to declare their assets before 18 September while ward councilors before September 29, that is what the law says,” said Chiusiwa.

He however said there are some public officers who failed to declare their assets or declared after the expiry of the deadline after the 2014 elections.

“We recommended to their employers that they be fired as the law provides,” he said.

Some of them did not make it in the 2019 election.

Constitutional law expert Edge Kanyongolo said the declaration of assets law should be pegged to the electoral laws to force anyone seeking an elective office declare assets first.

“This would mean anyone seeking an elective office would first show the Malawi Electoral Commission the asset declaration certification before being allowed to vie for the office,” he said.

Former cabinet minister Grace Chiumia was among some cabinet ministers and members of parliament of failed to declare their assets after the 2014 elections and the office of the President and Cabinet failed to act on them.