Mozambican President unveils revision of Public Integrity Law

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has unveiled and published a new version of the Public Integrity Law, approved by Parliament in May, the Presidency of the Republic announced on Tuesday.

The presidential statement said that the head of state also promulgated and ordered the publication of a law approving the organization, functioning and work of the Public Accounts Section of the Administrative Court.

“The laws mentioned above were recently approved by the Assembly of the Republic and submitted to the President of the Republic for promulgation,” while the head of state “verified that they do not contradict the Basic Law,” the statement said.

Justice Minister Helena Kida said in parliament on May 8 that the review of the Public Integrity Law “is not aimed at persecuting” anyone, but rather at preventing corrupt practices, namely by expanding the obligation to declare assets. .

“This law does not persecute people. Therefore, if I know that the property I have was acquired legally, then I have no problems with declaring it,” he explained regarding the transition to mandatory property declaration for some government employees.

Before deputies of the specialized committee, the Minister of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs defended the proposal to extend the mandatory declaration of assets: “Sometimes the money is not taken from the state itself, but on the basis of a function that concerns what you can get from different people, which services are provided and which have analogues. It’s a mechanism to better understand who has what, but more than that, how they got it.”

“It’s a cycle that, if it’s clean, there’s no problem. This is also a mechanism that we think will serve to prevent corrupt practices,” added Helena Kida.

The Mozambican government submitted a proposal to parliament, which approved it, to revise the Public Integrity Act, which requires police officers, court officials and prison guards to declare their income and assets.

It imposes the obligation to declare income and assets on traffic police officers, municipal police officers, the president and employees of the tax authority, employees of the National Criminal Investigation Service, employees of the National Migration Service, prison guards and border police.

Employees working at border posts, employees of the National Institute of Road Transport, civil servants in protected areas and forest protection, employees of winter gardens and notary offices, as well as bailiffs and assistant bailiffs are also subject to the same obligation.

This proposal imposes equal responsibilities on members of fund management and collection units, recipients, treasurers, and other persons legally or actually responsible for the collection, custody, or administration of public funds, as well as on auditors and inspectors at all levels.

The return “must detail all elements that permit a rigorous assessment of the assets and income of the declarant and his or her spouse, minor children and legal dependents.”

Retains the current obligation to declare the income and assets of owners or members of political organizations, judicial judges and prosecutors, advisory judges to the Constitutional Council, the Ombudsman and directors of the State Information and Security Service.

Civil servants holding positions or functions in the service commission through election, appointment, hiring or any other form of investment or connection, managers, administrators, coordinators and persons responsible for projects at all levels that are to be implemented in government agencies are also required to declare their income and assets in the Prosecutor General’s Office.