Africa-Press – Tanzania. ZANZIBAR President Dr Hussein Mwinyi has ordered the Zanzibar Public Leaders’ Ethics Commission to find out why 52 public leaders failed to fill wealth declaration forms.
President Mwinyi directed the Commission to take appropriate legal actions against those who would be found guilty of violating the law.
Dr Mwinyi made the statement when officiating at the ‘Codes of ethics and Human Rights Day’ marked here yesterday at the gathering held at Sheikh Idris Abdulwakil Hall.
His directive came after learning that in the 2020/21 financial year a total of 52 leaders did not fulfill the legal requirement of submitting the wealth declaration forms. The 52 leaders were among a total of 2,578 public leaders who collected wealth declaration forms from the commission during the past financial year as per the leadership code of ethics.
President Mwinyi issued a two-week ultimatum, until December 30, this year for those leaders to ensure that they submit their forms to the commission. “It is a weakness in leadership if you fail to meet a deadline,” he stated.
He emphasized that the filling of the ‘public leaders property/debts declaration form’ is compulsory and shows the level of commitment and openness by leaders. “I want to see adherence to code of ethics, including accountability by all public leaders,” he stated, calling for more accountability among his aides.
Dr Mwinyi, thus, directed his executives and leaders at all levels to strengthen good governance, accountability, and improve delivery of services and fight corruption.
The Isles leader warned some public servants who still slow down the implementation of the ‘central payment system’ which is helping the government track all the payments and minimise embezzlement and cheating.
“The people you serve need to see you committed, accountable, patriotic, and that you observe the rule of law, and you adhere to code of ethics,” Dr Mwinyi said The event was attended by cabinet ministers, permanent secretaries, regional commissioners, and other public leaders.
The International Anti -Corruption and Ethics Day; and Human Rights Day are marked on every December 09 and 10 respectively, but this year the government skipped it to pave the way for the 60th Tanzania Independence anniversary.
Dr Mwinyi further directed the Zanzibar Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Authority (ZAECA) to work closely with the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and the judiciary to improve investigations and hearing of corruption cases.
Only 29 out of 289 corruption cases handled by ZAECA between January and November, this year were forwarded to the DPP for judicial process.
“We still need to do more in fighting corruption and Gender Based Violence (GBV) particularly abuse of children and women which remains a problem. We need to join forces to end the social menace,” Dr Mwinyi said as he thanked the event organisers and fundersLegal Services Facility (LSF).
State Minister- President’s Office (Constitution, Legal Affairs, Public Service, and Good Governance, Mr Haroun Ali Suleiman said leaders at all levels have been doing well, but called for more commitment in supporting President Mwinyi.
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