Ex-ministers Have 30 Days To Repay 2016 Debt

The Constitutional Court has given former cabinet ministers, their deputies and provincial ministers 30 days in which to pay back the money owed by cabinet ministers who were deemed to have illegally stayed in office in the run up to the 2016 elections.  

This is the latest development concerning the money owed by 64 former cabinet ministers and deputies as a result of their illegal stay in office ahead of the August 2016 elections.  

In August 2016 the courts determined that ministers must pay back their allowances and salaries for the period following the dissolution of Parliament. During this time cabinet members stayed in office and continued to draw their salary and benefits, which the courts ruled to be illegal following a challenge.  

Since then the process to recover the money owed has been slow and drawn out. In November 2019 state advocate Francis Mwale set out the challenges encountered by the state in determining the precise amount to be paid.  

Minister of Justice Given Lubinda has previously stated that government is committed to ensuring return of the money owed once the amount to be repaid has been established. Hon Lubinda is among those owing funds, with his debt totalling K56,226.92.  

The amount owed by the former officials was reduced from K4.7 million to K4.2 million in September 2020. The reduction of the figure by the state came as a result of a correction to the figure concerning repatriation allowances, which stand at K8,000 not K15,000 as had been demanded.