Only 2 Bulawayo councillors declare assets

ONLY two out of 29 Bulawayo councillors have heeded the call by residents to declare their assets.

The call to declare the assets was made by the Bulawayo Progressive Residents' Association (BPRA) in September to help fight corruption involving public officials.

Councillor Arnold Batirai Dube of ward 24, and Rodney Jele of ward 22, yesterday declared their assets at a meeting held at Nkulumane Hall.

BPRA acting co-ordinator Emmanuel Ndlovu said the two had taken the bold step and declared their assets in writing.

"The two councillors declared their assets and handed the declaration forms to us. They said the party (MDC Alliance)changed position not to announce their assets until December. We don't know the reason behind that," he said.

"This move will help fight corruption and most councillors come in when they have nothing, but after two or three years, they will be owning a lot of assets. We hope it will have a knock-on effect on corruption and that this move will escalate to Cabinet ministers and the President himself."

Ndlovu said assets and interest registers were not a new practice, having been previously implemented in countries such as South Africa and Rwanda.