Compel public officials to disclose assets

and it has become imperative that Government should seriously consider putting in place institutional and organisational arrangements that will compel public officials, both elected and appointed, to disclose their assets and liabilities, and have these monitored.
The monumental corruption now manifest in the civil service from the highest echelons of power to the lowest operational levels is a result of a prolonged dereliction of duty by the powers-that-be to cultivate responsible business conduct in the public sector.
Public administration units in the country, particularly those that interface with the general public, have become epicentres of all forms of corruption and institutional malpractices.
According to a Herald report last Wednesday, Government workers have learnt to “shake down” members of the public seeking their services particularly in different departments responsible for licensing, birth certificates, passports and customs clearing.
The civil servants solicit for bribes or “expediting fees” from the public in order to offer Government services.
The divorce cases making headlines in newspapers involving Government ministers have suddenly become a new intriguing source of information on the wealth that they have accumulated.
Surely, there is no better time than now to introduce infrastructure that will compel elected and appointed public officials to disclose their assets and liabilities from time to time as a means of bringing back sanity in Government business.
The principal goal of asset disclosure will be to combat corruption and other inappropriate workplace behaviours.
Public officials’ disclosure of information is critical in ensuring transparency and accountability in public administration.
It enhances the legitimacy of Government in the eyes of the public, and stimulates economic development.
Disclosure will help to restore and maintain public trust and confidence in the Government and its officials.
When put in place, application of disclosure measures should not be selective or biased towards a particular group as this will needlessly attract cynicism by staff members and the public.
The rule instead should be applied across all operational levels in the organisation to ensure effective results.
Disclosure is an ethics management tool that has proven its worth over the years in countries where ethics management is leveraged and taken seriously.
The world over, countries with detailed disclosure requirements have experienced a decline in corruption.
In fact, asset disclosure and monitoring has become a key instrument for maintaining integrity in the public service.
Disclosures can be made annually, or at any other period prescribed by the controlling authority.
In Ghana the Public Office Holders’ Declaration of Assets and Disqualification Act states that a person who holds a public office shall submit to the Attorney-General a written declaration of all properties or assets and liabilities owned by him/her directly or indirectly, before taking office, or at the end of his/her term of office.
The same act requires office holders to inform the relevant authorities when significant changes occur in the period between disclosures.
In Russia during Yeltsin’s presidency there was a proposal that every single public official from the president to the street cleaner should make written declarations to the responsible authority.
South Africa has just introduced a scheme for monitoring all parliamentarians including ministers.
Here in Zimbabwe the Government, after putting in place the disclosure infrastructure, could make the disclosure compulsory for all those in public office including politicians upon assumption of duty, and from time to time, either through legislation, or through self-regulation by means of a code of conduct and ethics, or both.
The disclosure will touch on such things like houses and land, business interests, shareholding, vehicles and other capital assets.
There should be clarity on who should declare what as some officials can exploit situations where there are loopholes by refusing to declare their assets.
A case in point is when recently the Co-Minister of Home Affairs, Mrs Theresa Makone, decided to declare her assets to the Speaker of Parliament encouraging other MPs to do the same.
This move was vehemently resisted by some MPs, understandably because there is no rule to compel them to do so.
However, disclosures work well when they are part of a comprehensive ethics programme with other ethics infrastructure such as ethics training, reward and sanctioning, not as a standalone, and when they have a strong legal backing as highlighted above.
The value of asset disclosure is five-fold.
First, it sends a message of Government commitment to transparency and accountability, thus increasing public trust and confidence in its business.
Second, disclosure of information on personal interests may be used as an indicator that a person whose financial profile and lifestyle is inconsistent with his/her official income should be required to explain the situation.
Third, disclosure of information may be used as a separate vehicle for prosecution when the underlying corruption that generated the illegal income of assets may not be provable. Thus it may assist the detection of illicit enrichment and contribute to investigations and disciplinary procedures.
Fourth, disclosures may also serve to protect public officials from wrongful accusations and rumour-mongering if such information is recorded.
Above all, disclosures help to improve the business ethics and governance climate in public administration.
Public officials should know that they are public agents and as such they are expected to act for and in the interest of the public.
The psychological contract between the two parties is that, in exchange for public trust, officials agree to abide by a set of public rules and submit to public scrutiny and periodic inspection of their behaviour for compliance.
l Bradwell Mhonderwa is the Managing Consultant of Business Ethics Centre, a corporate governance and business ethics management firm. Phone 04-293 2948, 0712 420 090, 0772 913 875, or email [email protected]