Photo: Albert Gonzalez Farran/UNAMID It is not the President declaring assets that will change the country,' was Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan's response on why he has not yet publicly declared his assets. This was after Nigeria's Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) on 26 June submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for his asset declarations from May 2007 to 2012. SERAP argues that President Jonathan's refusal to publicly declare his assets shows the government's 'lack of political will to lead by example and to combat the endemic and grand corruption which has continued to have corrosive effects on the human rights ... of millions of Nigerians'.
Is President Jonathan correct in stating that the declaration of financial interests and assets does not change the landscape of a country, or is there a role for this practice? In many parts of the world, this issue has become key in the fight against corruption.
In the Philippines, for example, an international precedent has been set regarding the non-fulfillment of disclosure requirements. In a landmark case on 29 May, over two-thirds of the Philippines Senate voted to remove Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corono for failing to disclose his interests, liabilities and net worth. The implication of this decision means the country's top judge is permanently barred from public office. According to Raymond Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms in Manila, the effect of this will be to enhance President Benigno Aquino's anti-corruption campaign and his support.
In South Sudan, the world's youngest country, financial disclosure has been a focal point in the fight against corruption. Last year, after accusations of grand-scale corruption in South Sudan, President Salva Kiir Mayardit issued a presidential decree that those in government and certain public servants were required to declare their wealth, including assets, liabilities and income. Non-governmental organisation workers are also required to declare their assets. The South Sudan Anti-Corruption Commission (SSACR) announced in March this year that both President Kirr and Vice President Riek Machar had declared their personal interests, assets and liabilities and called for the cooperation of constitutional post holders and senior public servants before the deadline of 31 March.
So why all the emphasis on financial disclosure? According to a recent (2012) publication by the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Public Office, Private Interests: Accountability through Income and Asset Disclosure, international experience has taught that addressing corruption needs to be done on two simultaneous fronts: prevention and enforcement. Income and asset disclosure systems are recognised as an anti-corruption tool that can potentially support both prevention and enforcement. According to this publication, there are three main benefits of financial disclosure: detecting and preventing corrupt behaviour and conflicts of interests; building integrity in public service; and enhancing public confidence in the integrity of government.
Article 8(5) of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (2003) advocates that states parties should initiate systems that require public officials to make declarations regarding outside activities, employment, investments, assets and gifts or benefits from which a conflict of interest may result with respect to their functions as public officials. At the continental level, Article 7 of the African Union Convention Against Corruption (2003) obliges states parties to require all public officials to declare their interests.
Declaration of interests and assets is one example of a preventative anti-corruption tool. However, perhaps even more important than the declaration of interests is the monitoring and oversight thereof. In South Africa, weak oversight mechanisms mean that public access to information is critical. We rely on the public and the media to scrutinise financial declaration forms through the right of public access to information. The Who Owns What? Database (www.issafrica.org/corruption/whoownswhat/), created by the ISS's Governance and Corruption Division, is a mechanism to facilitate public access to elected officials' interests and assets.
In order to promote the right of access to information, as set out by the Constitution in Section 32, all levels and branches of government should make their officials' declarations available online. At the moment, Parliament is the only institution in South Africa doing so. This would go a long way to closing the gap between the people and their elected representatives, and to demonstrate a willingness to put into practice commitment to transparency and accountability in South Africa.
John Locke's notion of the social contract comes to mind. Citizens elect officials to act as their representatives. Through this process of entrusting decision-making power into the hands of elected officials, these officials in turn have duties and responsibilities toward the populace. Key to this relationship is trust, which enables legitimacy. When breached through a violation of this social contract, public trust is eroded, which in turn undermines legitimacy.
Financial disclosure is admittedly not a panacea in the fight against corruption, but if used effectively is one step closer to revealing the opaque nature of the deals that go on behind closed doors. As much as it is an instrument to deter corruption, its implementation and enforcement is also indicative of public officials' commitment to transparency and accountability, which promotes public trust in government. Ultimately, accurate and comprehensive financial disclosure demonstrates that officials have nothing to hide and that their private business interests are not influencing officials' public decisions.
Shireen Mukadam, Researcher, Governance and Corruption Division, ISS Cape Town
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THE WEST IN RESPECT THE USA SHOULD REALY APPLY THESE TO THIER ENTIRE GOVERNMENT AS WE KNOW THE USA IS THE MOST CORRUPT ON TEH PLANET FOLLWE CLOSELY BY THE UK AND THE REST OF EUROPE. IT IS GOOD FOR AFRICA TO ADOPT THESE PRINCIPLES WHICH ARE PART AND PARCEL OF OUR CULTURES WE HAVE BEEN COERCED TO FOLLOW THE WEAL IMBALANCED DISINGENUOUS THE FRAUDTSER , HE HAS FORCED UPON US HIS WILL IN HIS DESIRE TO BE THE MOST SUPERIOR THE MOST SUPREME HE AS CORRUPTED EVERY LEVEL OF NOBILITY THAT WAS THE INBREEDING OF CULTURE IN ALL AFRICAN NATIONS PRIOR TO THJIER DECIMATION OF AFRICA 500 YEARS AGO. WHAT WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE IS THAT WE ARE FREE WE MUST PAY HOMAGE TO ALL OUR REVOLUTIONARIES WHO FOUGHT WITH GREAT PAIN TO ACHIEVE OUR FRE WIZE INTELLECT FROM THESE BARBARIANS. DO NOT BE OFFENDED WHEN THEY SPEAK DOWN TO YOU THEY DONT KNOW BETTER THEY NOT THEMSELVES THEY ARE IN DENIAL THEY WANT SOME ONE TO BLAME. THEY WANT TO PLACE THEMSELVES AT THE HEAD OF THE TABLE, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE USA THEY HAVE TERRORIST ATTACKS BY WHITE MIDDLECALSS BOYS AS IS BEING TOLD TO THE WOLRD; HOWEVER THEY WANT US TO BELIVE THAT , BUT, WE HAVE JSUT SEEN THAT THEY ARE NOT IMMUNE AT HOME. WHAT THEY NEED TO KNOW IS THAT WHEN THEY GET THIER HOME THIER BACKYARD IN ORDER THEN THEY CAN VENTURE OUT IN THE WIDE WIDE WORLD TO LECTURE AS THEY DO, ABOUT DECALRATIONS OF INCOME AND TRANSPARENCY; EVERY SINGLE CONGRES MAN SENATOR IN THE USA THAT HOLDS OFFICE TODAY IS OWNED BY A NUMBER OF MULTINATIONAL CORPORATYIONS!!!!!! AMAZING ;SPECTACULARLY THIER ENTIRE SYSTEM IS FRAUDULENT FROM WITHIN, IT IS COMPLETELY BROKEN'. WE SEE THE SAME THING IN THE UK IT IS AMAZING THAT THE PM STILL HOLDS HIS POST HSI ENTIRE AUSTERITY MOVEMENT IS OS FRAUDULENT IT IS BEYOND BELIEF . THE UK HAS THIS ACCESS OF FRAUDSTERS WITHIN THE TWO PARTIES THE GOVERNMENT THE CIVIL SERVANTS ESPECIALLY THE PRESS AND THE POLICE, SO WHEN THEY TRY TO LECTURS AFRICA TELL THEM TO LOOK AT THIER BROKEN DESPERATE SYSTEM THIER FINANCIAL SYSTEMS ARE DESTROYED WITH FRAUD BECAUSE THEY REFUSED TO APPLY THE VERY THINGS THEY WANT TO SPEAK DOWN TO OTHERS ABOUT. THEY SHOULD ALSO KNOW THAT THIS IS A DIFFERNT WORLD INFORMATION IS ACCESIBLE TO PEOPLE ROUND THE WORLD DAILY AND EVERYONE IN THE WORLD IS NOT BEING PUT TO BED AS THEY ARE IN THE USA. IN AFRICA THE PEOPLE ARE CONGNIZANT OF THESE PROBLEMS AND YES THE UN ARTICLES ARE GOOD TO SIGHT IN LAW IF IT WAS BINDING THE USA THE WEST WOULD HAVE TO BE THE BIGGEST CULPRITS ONTHE PLANET. WITH THIS KNOWLEDGE IT IS MORE POIGNAT THAT WE MOTIVATE ORUSELVES TO REACH A MUCH MORE HIGHER STANDARD THAN WHAT THEY HAVE SHOWN TO US. WE MUST LET IT BE KNOWN WITH ALL THIER BULLYISM THIER DOUBLE STANDARDS THIER HYPOCRISY WE HAVE ATTAAINED WHAT IS IN OUR GENITIC MAKE UP TO STRIDE FOR PERFECTION.MAKING THINGS RIGHT IS EASY AND IT OFFERS LESS GRIEF IT SUSPENDS POVERTY IT MOTIVATED GENIUS. WE MUST DO THINSG NTO EBCAUSE THEY WANT TO IMPLY THAT WE ARE SO IGNORANT THAT THEY HAVE TO TEACH US HOW TO USE TYHE TOILET. THEY BROKE AFRICA DOWN TO ZERO THEY EMASCULATED ALL OUR LEADERS THEY ENSLAVED ALL ORU WIZE RULERS OR THEY WERE MURDEREDTHEM. WHO THEY SAY YOU ARE IS WHAT TYH3EY CRAETED AND YOU KNOW WHAT??? THEY FAILED EVEN WITH THIER SEVERE POISONING OF MANY NATIONS WITH THIER GERM AND BIOLOGICAL PHARMACUTICAL LAB EXPERIMENTS. AFRICA WAS USED FOR ALL THIER TEST THE JEWS WERE ESPECIALLY FUND OF THAT DURING APARTHIED DAYS IN SA. EBOLI IN UGANDA IS WESTERN BUILT DISEASE. WHEN I SAY TO AFRICA I DREAD WHEN THESE PEPL;E HAVE SECRET BASES IN AFRICAIWTH SPY MISSIONS AND FRAUDULENT MISSIONS IT IS FRIGHTENING; THY RAE NOT TRUSTWORHTY, THEY WISH ILL WILL TO AFRICANS. EBOLI, AIDS ARE COMMON LABORATORY INVENTIONS USED BY THE WEST AS A TYPE OF GENOCIDE THE SAME WITH EBOLI . TO DECIDE THAT THESE THINSG ATRE NOT TRUE IS TO BLIND YOURSELF AS TO WHOM THESE ENSLAVERS TRULY ARE.FREINDS DO NOT OPPRESS THEY REACH OUT WITH HANDS OF FERINDSHIP THEY EXCHANGE THEY SHARE THEY LOVE THEY ADVICE THEY DONT OPPRESS SWINDLE STEAL MURDER RAPE LIE TAKE CONSPIRE TO MAKE YOU LESS; THEY WONT RECOGNISE THE EQUALITY OF HUMANITY. EVERYTHING GOES TOGETEHER AS ONE , THERE IS NOT ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER" AFRICAN LEADERS ARE MOR INTERESTED IN RIGHTEOUSS GOVERNMENT THAN THE CORRUPT IDSINGENUOUS GOVERNING PRACTISES OF THE WEST"
The United Nations might want to consider cleaning its own back yard and might want to start by taking into account the disclosures in the whistleblowing book "U.N. a cosa nostra" published by D.T. Krueger on the subject matter prior to giving any lecture to any other party.