Assembleia da Republica
Maputo, 23 May (AIM) – The Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, on Wednesday approved, amendments to the Law on Public Probity, which now obliges members of the traffic police and of the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) to declare their assets to the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
Approved by unanimously, the amended Law on Public Probity intends to adapt to the country’s current legal and technological developments. State employees may now declare their assets in an electronic or manual format, on the appropriate platforms.
According to the first deputy president of the Assembly, António Amélia, the law will guarantee public servants’ morality, transparency and impartiality in the management of state assets.
“This law was approved because public servants were not carrying out their mission in the spirit of ethics, morality and public probity”, said António.
The declaration of assets, he said, will help to eliminate immorality and exploitation of public property “which that denoted a clear situation of enrichment without just cause, and the continuous verification of conflicts of interest.”
For his part, Arnaldo Chalaua, the spokesperson of the parliamentary group of the main opposition party, Renamo, said this law was necessary because it brings to the civil servants honor, integrity and strict observance of the duty of justice and ethics.
He also said it is important because state officials are prohibited from receiving remuneration and bonuses outside the law. “Corruption of public servants may lead to various problems in governance”, he declared “The lack of public probity creates demotion and disqualification of public institutions and failures in governance programmes”.
“All the programmes that this government is doing or drawing up are falling apart, and you know why? Basically the biggest problem has to do with public probity, there is no public probity in this country”, he claimed.
The Public Probity Law was first introduced in 2012 as a way of ensuring morality, transparency, impartiality and respect in the management of state assets by public servants.
(AIM)
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