It might be thought that, having twice previously run into trouble over her LBWF register of interests (RoI) (see links, below), Cllr. Anna Mbachu would be extra careful to avoid a repeat.
But unfortunately, old habits, it would appear, die hard.
Cllr. Mbachu last updated her RoI on 14 February 2022, when she declared her employment with the NHS plus one directorship, at Imo State Daughters Association Ltd. (company no. 11204883).
What she did not declare was that, as of that date, she also held directorships at two other active private companies, Anna Mbachu Educate Orphans and Support the Widows Ltd. (company no. 12321223), and Association of British Nigeria Councillors UK Ltd. (company no. 12956092), which she had been appointed to on 19 November 2019 and 16 October 2020, respectively, and (according to the rules) should have declared within 28 days.
Moreover, Companies House filings show that Cllr. Mbachu continues to hold the latter two positions today, meaning her RoI still remains in significant error.
These facts have been reported to LBWF Director of Governance and Law, Mark Hynes, and he has agreed to investigate.
The 2011 Localism Act stipulates that councillors must register ‘pecuniary interests’, and if they do not, unless they have a ‘reasonable excuse’ (the latter undefined), they commit a criminal offence.
In the past, Mr. Hynes has tended to operate on the basis that if councillors merely tell him their omission was ‘genuine’ (in his mind the opposite of ‘wilful’), he judges them to have a ‘reasonable excuse’, and so is justified in taking no further action.
However, in this case, his room for manoevre in reaching such a conclusion is somewhat circumscribed, because after Cllr. Mbachu’s previous failure to make an accurate declaration in July 2020, he told this blog that he had contacted her personally, and reminded her ‘of the need to notify me of any changes to her register of interest [sic] in the future’.
So, to recap, despite
the well known requirements of the Localism Act of 2011,
the clear rules concerning RoIs laid out in the Code of Conduct for Members (Part 9 of the LBWF constitution),
twice having been found to have an RoI that is in error,
several times receiving Mr. Hynes’ round robin letters to all councillors advising them to keep their RoIs updated,
a verbal presentation by Mr. Hynes to the Labour Group on the same theme, and
Mr. Hynes personal reminder to her of 2020,
Cllr. Mbachu still appears to be making the same ‘mistakes’.
Perhaps this is the product of arrogance, a belief that ‘the rules don’t apply to me’, or maybe it’s a failure of basic comprehension (each worrying given her wider responsibilities as a councillor).
Whatever the case, it is surely time for Mr. Hynes to take some meaningful action.
ADDENDUM
Relatedly, perhaps, in a Waltham Forest Echo post dated 13 April 2022, Victoria Munro reports that the Labour Party has expelled Cllr. Mbachu from its membership, meaning that now she is standing for election as an independent.
What mechanism has been used to produce this outcome, or how Cllr. Mbachu has transgressed, are so far unspecified, but it appears that she is lodging an appeal.