Asset declaration, a tool to prevent corruption

The recent announcement by Clerk of Parliament, Mr Kennedy Chokuda that Members of Parliament (MPs) will soon declare their assets as a way of increasing transparency and the trust of citizens in public administration in them is a noble idea which needs to be fully implemented.  Disclosing information on assets by government officials will make them accountable to the public.

There have been different perceptions from the public that MPs and other public officials were abusing public funds for their personal gains. In order to prove the public views wrong, parliamentarians should disclose their assets without hesitation.  Additionally, section 198 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe stipulates that, An Act of Parliament must provide measures to enforce the provisions of this Chapter , which includes (a) requiring public officers to make regular disclosures of their assets.

As a measure of preventing corruption among the legislators, there is really need for them to declare each and every asset they own as stated by Mr Chokuda.  As much as government's efforts of uprooting corruption is commendable there is also need for government to consider justification of those properties. Declaration of assets on its own is not adequate and complete. The responsible authorities must also consider a follow up proof on how those assets were acquired.

Also, declaration of assets should also be done by Ministers, Permanent Secretaries in different Ministries, Chief Executive Officers of all parastatals, board members of State enterprises and parastatals as well as top government officials since they all handle public funds.
Corruption is a key threat to good governance, democratic processes and fair business competition. Corruption by government officials has negative impact on the end result of their work.  

In other countries, declaration of assets by both parliamentarians and civil servants has always been there. For instance, in Pakistan, members of the parliament and civil servants are required to declare their assets, according to the 1976 Representation of People Act and the 1964 Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, respectively. Also, in Afghanistan, public officials are required to declare their assets and income upon entry into the public service, annually and upon leaving office.

The principal goal of income and asset disclosure systems is to combat corruption.  Moreover, this encourages foreign investment. Foreign investors prefer doing business with a well performing and transparent public sector. By declaring assets, public

Disclosure of assets will also allow a public official's wealth to be monitored. In the case that periodic disclosures show an unusual increase in assets or extravagant expenditures the employee can be asked for an explanation.

In addition, when government knows what assets its employee owns, for instance some will have interests in firms or real estates, they can determine when the employee's participation in a decision may be highlighted by his/her personal interests and when he/she should be excluded from the decision-making process.

However, they must be laws that enforce the disclosure of assets or finance by public officials. Prosecuting and convicting the corrupt officials will also be easier when there is a financial or disclosure law. When suspicions about an individual are raised, investigators can review the person's income and asset disclosure statement. Thus, if it is consistent with bank account records and what one can observe of the person's lifestyle?

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sibusisiso ndlamini <sibusisondlamini@gmail.com