Asset Declaration System (LK0025)

Establish an effective asset declaration system to ease submission, verification and public access
1st March 2019 – 31st August 2021
Lead implementing agency/ actor Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC)
Commitment description
What is the public problem that the commitment will address? There is a citizen perception that elected officials and senior public servants frequently use their official positions for personal financial gains. Citizens are unaware of the financial interests of elected officials and senior public servants. Details of personal assets are necessary if a complaint arises with regard to unlawful acquisition of assets by government officials or politicians. Under the asset disclosure law in the country, all relevant government employees are required to declare their assets and liabilities annually to their Heads of Institutions. Many government institutions do not, however, adhere to this legal requirement. Asset disclosures are currently made through a paper based system, but this is extremely challenging for monitoring and verification purposes.
What is the commitment? This commitment is about establishing an effective asset declaration system for systematic asset disclosure by persons occupying public positions that will help strengthen public integrity and enhance citizens’ confidence in public institutions.
How will the commitment contribute to solve the public problem? The CIABOC will publicly launch an asset declaration online portal with ease of submission, verification and public access following relevant legal amendments. Citizens will be provided information on public access through a public information campaign using electronic, print and digital media. Public scrutiny of assets will serve as a deterrent against unethical behaviour to use public office for private gains. CIABOC will provide annual reports on the status of prosecutions undertaken based on asset declaration verification. By facilitating access to asset information and verification, instances of corruption and abuse can be more readily detected.
Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values? This commitment promotes public accountability as it provides for public scrutiny of the measures taken against unethical behaviours of public officials. It promotes technology and innovation for openness and accountability by providing opportunities for information and citizen participation.
Additional information The Commitment strengthens the prevailing Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Law; supports the objectives of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption; the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal No. 16 which calls for reducing corruption and bribery; and the current initiatives by the CIABOC, including the implementation of an envisaged national action plan to combat corruption which is under preparation.
Milestone Activity with a verifiable deliverable Start Date: End Date:
1. Asset declaration online portal introduced with a public launch following relevant legal amendments. March 2019 December 2019
2. Citizens are provided information on public access through a public information campaign using electronic, print and digital media January 2020 June 2020
3. Creating an ‘Office of Assets Disclosure’ to be responsible for collecting, analyzing and taking necessary actions on assets declarations January 2020 June 2020
4. CIABOC provides annual reports on the status of prosecutions undertaken based on asset declaration verification January 2020 December 2020

2. Asset Declaration System

Verifiable: Yes

Relevant to Open Government: Yes

Potential Impact: Moderate

Completion: Limited

Aim of the commitment

This commitment aimed to increase public officials’ asset transparency by establishing an Office of Asset Disclosure, publishing an annual report on relevant prosecutions, and creating and publicizing an online asset declaration portal. It built on a commitment with limited implementation in the previous action plan which aimed to amend the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Act. [1]

According to the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Law, within three months of taking office, parliamentarians, judges, public officials of government departments, ministries, local authorities, chairpersons and staff of public corporations, candidates for elected public office, and elected officials were required to declare their assets and liabilities, as well as those of their family members. ^[2] Although this law had been in place since 1975, there were serious shortcomings in verifying disclosures and addressing non-compliance. ^[3] Preceding the action plan, most institutions did not adhere to legally-required asset declarations, and the system for asset declaration was paper-based. [4] Members of the public could only procure parliamentarians’ asset declarations through a fee, and the law barred subsequently sharing this information more widely. [5] 

If fully implemented as written, this commitment could have had a moderate impact on increasing access to asset declarations. However, the commitment did not specify a process for increasing the number of officials declaring their assets. There was also a lack of clarity on corresponding actions to undertake prosecutions. ^[6]

Did it open government?

Marginal

No progress was made on establishing an online public portal for asset declaration, an Office of Assets Disclosure, or annual reports on prosecutions related to asset declaration verification. During the beginning of the implementation period, Transparency International Sri Lanka and WSO2, a global software company, made a pro bono offer to develop the online public portal, but the government initially had a different plan for the portal, which did not come to fruition. Finally, the government did not conduct a public information campaign for citizens, but Transparency International Sri Lanka ran several campaigns on asset declaration. These included writing to members of parliament, publishing articles in the press, posting billboards, and creating social media campaigns. This brought asset declaration into the public discourse, generating a moderate level of demand for asset declaration among relevant civil society organizations and political parties. ^[7] As a result, by February 2021, 12 individual parliamentarians had voluntarily published their asset declarations. ^[8] This was a positive step, but the remainder of Sri Lanka’s 225 parliamentarians have not followed suit.

If future efforts are undertaken to establish an online portal for asset declaration, the IRM recommends incorporating efforts to increase the number of public officials declaring their assets, as well as including verification mechanisms to limit the falsification of assets declared or the obscuring of certain assets, such as beneficial ownership. It could also be valuable to include a redress mechanism for public feedback on the accessibility of relevant information and the usability of the portal.