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LAST week, we carried a story under the headline “Parly okays lifestyle audits for MPs”. The intention by Parliament to scrutinise the legislators’ lifestyle is noble and most appreciated by the generality of Zimbabweans.The major advantage of such an audit is that it will help curb incidents where MPs use their political influence and power for self-aggrandisement. What is important though is not the announcement of intention by Parliament to undertake such an audit.

Our worry emanates from the fact that various arms of Government have in the past spoken about carrying out such audits on their members, but nothing really came out of it — at least not in the public domain.

We urge Parliament not to fall into the same trap of announcing the audit just for the sake of it. Voters are very much worried when a person who was almost “a nobody” in their locality yesterday suddenly acquires so much wealth as soon as they become an MP.

This has given a wrong impression that being an MP is a gateway to riches, when being a legislator should be like answering a calling to serve the people. It is a fact that many of our legislators live beyond their means, with lifestyles that cannot be sustained by their allowances.

The MPs are on record calling for a review of the allowances, which they view as too low. It would be a huge disappointment if Parliament does not carry out this lifestyle audit and make the results known to the people.

The examples abound. In January 2013, the Zimbabwe Republic Police said it was launching a lifestyle audit on traffic officers as a measure to curb rampant corruption, especially at roadblocks.

In August last year, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority announced it was intensifying a lifestyle audit on its staff, with the authority saying it was looking at bank accounts, mobile money transfers and the Deeds Office to establish properties registered in its employees’ names or their families.

In March 2015, it was announced that the country’s filthy rich tycoons, political bigwigs and wheeler-dealers, who live in mansions sprawling across vast acres of space with landscaped surroundings and drive luxury cars, would face a lifestyle audit by Zimra.

To date, the nation eagerly awaits the outcomes of those threats. It is in this regard that we also call on Zanu-PF to seriously consider going back to the principles espoused in long-forgotten Leadership Code adopted in 1984. The principles of that Leadership Code can easily be applied in every sector of our society to effectively deal with corruption.

The Code provides that every leader shall not (a) Accept or obtain from any person or for any other person a gift or consideration as inducement or reward for doing or failing to do or for having done or fore-borne to do any act in relation to the party’s business or the business of the Government or for the purpose of showing or fore-bearing to show favour or disfavour to any person in relation to the affairs of the party or Government,

(b) Give or offer a gift to any person as an inducement to that other person to do a favour or as a reward for a favour he has obtained or been promised,

(c) Use funds of the party or the Government or produce false receipts and or account falsely for such monies with intent to deceive the party or the Government.

The template is there.