Harare - Zimbabwe has given cabinet
ministers and senior government officials until the end of
February to declare their assets as new President Emmerson
Mnangagwa seeks to foster transparency and fight corruption.
Mnangagwa, 75, took power after Robert Mugabe was toppled by
the military. He immediately promised to tackle corruption,
especially in public institutions.
Misheck Sibanda, chief secretary to the president and
cabinet, said in a statement that it was now mandatory for
cabinet ministers, their deputies, senior government officials
and bosses of state-owned businesses to declare their assets.
The officials will be required to disclose details on their
real estate, other property valued above $100,000, and
shareholdings in businesses by Febraury 28.
"The president expects the full and urgent cooperation of
all the affected office bearers," Sibanda said.
Mnangagwa, who is attending the World Economic Forum in
Davos, the first time by a Zimbabwean president, is trying to
break with past policies of Mugabe in a bid to lure foreign
investment and end the country's international pariah status.
Under Mugabe's near four-decade rule, few government
officials were arrested for corruption.
When the military announced it had put Mugabe under house
arrest on Nov. 15, it said it was targeting criminals that
surrounded the 93-year-old leader.
Since then, three former government ministers and allies of
Mugabe have been arrested and charged in court for criminal
abuse of office. The trio denies the charges and say they are
being persecuted for supporting Mugabe and his wife Grace.