What’s the fuss about asset declarations?

 Before you vote, demand to see an asset declaration. If this is not published, what are they hiding? – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara

With the Parliamentary elections squarely back on the agenda, citizens of the country are now poised to exercise their franchise hopefully, meaningfully. Leaving the ‘lesser of two evils’ type choices and personal complicity aside, it is safe to assume that all citizens want a government that is not corrupt.

Why do people get in to corruption? 

There can sometimes be a personal benefit, where you make big amounts of money because you are a part of ‘collusive’ corruption. If you are trying to get a competitive advantage, this is also collusive corruption. There can also be ‘coercive’ corruption, where someone is forcing you to pay money to get a license, admission, or something similar. You do it because you feel like you do not have a choice. Either way, without proper scrutiny, you would not get very far in trying to stop these types of corruption occurring. 

What is an asset declaration and why does it matter? 

This is a form where you declare your assets and liabilities including houses, properties, bank accounts, gold, cash, beneficial ownership (to some extent), stocks and shares, etc. You are required to state all these details regarding your spouse and dependent children (whatever their age) as well. All politicians and senior level public officials are required to file these annually. Candidates at elections should submit it within three months of becoming a candidate. If someone is holding property in trust for you, this must be declared as well. So far, so good. We have a reasonably comprehensive disclosure system. 

So what’s the fuss? 

There are two key concerns around asset declarations. They are filed all over the place, and they are not public. This makes enforcement difficult. 

Members of Parliament submit them to the Speaker, Cabinet ministers submit them to the President. Public officials submit them to their senior officials. We are talking, then, of a system where asset declarations are lying in hundreds of different places, without any centralised body collecting them. Add to this, they are filed under confidential cover, and are generally only opened if there is an inquiry or investigation involving the person. 

What this means, then, is that hypothetically, a person silently could steal from the public purse without getting caught, simply because no one made a complaint against them, and they did not raise suspicion, even if they did not declare it in their asset declaration. 

As the law stands now, any person can request and obtain any person’s asset declaration upon paying Rs. 750. As can be seen, this is impractical – you would need to know the exact process, know where to ask, and have enough money. Even if a citizen were to do all this, they still cannot share the information they obtain without fear of imprisonment. Demonstrably, this is not an ideal system to ensure that those in power are not abusing their power to engage in corrupt dealings. 

It is the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) that has the power to investigate complaints related to an asset declaration – whether it is on the filing of it, or its content. CIABOC generally would only call for an asset declaration where it is needed for an investigation. 

There are two solutions to this problem. Compile asset declarations in a single place, preferably online, and make them public. This introduces two layers of scrutiny – from CIABOC and from citizens. 

On the one hand, CIABOC can use a software to raise red flags whenever there has been a mis-declaration and can also do random checks. Such a system has already been proposed under Sri Lanka’s Open Government Partnership National Action Plan. On the other hand, citizens who vest their sovereignty in politicians and public officials, get to hold them accountable. 

What if people lie in their asset declarations?

Clearly, a person who can embezzle funds is also capable of mis-declaring their assets. This is why a red flag system that can highlight suspicious cases is important. 

Until this is done, and even after this is done, this is why making asset declarations public is also important. Citizens should be able to know if there is a mismatch between a person’s lifestyle and what they declare. Not only should they know, they should be able to make the decision on who to vote for in any election, based on this. They should also be able to make a complaint about it and expect action to be taken. 

What can we do about all this? 

After all, who is not tired of the repetitive cycle of corrupt officials, corrupt politicians and mere allegations of corruption, not ending in convictions? Looking at an asset declaration is a strange and empowering thing. This, really, is all the fuss about asset declarations – give citizens information and implement the law with real force. 

We should also not forget one key factor – there is nothing to stop a candidate or politician from making their own asset declaration public in the run up to elections. So, before you vote, demand to see an asset declaration. If this is not published – what are they hiding? 

The writer is a Senior Manager (Advocacy) at Transparency International Sri Lanka