Asset declarations of public officials are a powerful tool to prevent corruption, detect illicit enrichment and conflicts of interests. Many of these countries make asset declarations available for public scrutiny.
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Asset declarations of public officials are a powerful tool to prevent corruption, detect illicit enrichment and conflicts of interests. Many of these countries make asset declarations available for public scrutiny.
In many countries politicians who run for offices do have to declare their assets— that is any connection that they might have to any other person or organisation from which the politician could benefit or in which the politician has an interest. This is to ensure that the politician is not mis-using their political platform for personal gain or in any other way having a conflict of interest that could colour they way in which they make political decisions on behalf of the people that they represent.
If there is a conflict of interest, then in many circumstances the politician is permitted to speak but not to vote on the matter, provided that they declare their interest before they speak. In certain circumstances where there is a conflict of interest, they migth have to stand aside from their political role. One such instance in the United Kingdom was when the son of the Home Secretary was reported for drug dealing.
Across the world, most countries expect their top leaders to make public, information about their assets. When they don’t, or if the figures don’t seem to add up as it happened in both Argentina and Nigeria, this can lead to both public unrest and political instability. In Nigeria civil society called on the Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to declare his assets in 2011. He declined to do so, despite the fact that the Nigerian constitution explicitly calls for all public officials to declare their assets within three months of taking office. In Argentina, the extraordinary 1150 per cent increase in the personal wealth of president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner since 2003 caused widespread comment because although she has declared her assets it is not clear where the increase came from. Politicians and civil servants hold substantial power over the allocation of resources in their countries and the citizens who elect them, and who in effect pay their salaries through their tax contributions. The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which has been ratified by 166 countries, requires a legal framework for asset declarations of government officials. An asset declaration open to public scrutiny is a way for citizens to ensure leaders do not abuse their power for personal gain. Asset declarations are a means to anchor the issue of ethics and integrity in the political classes and should be part of all codes of conduct.