Assets, liabilities and the moment of truth
been declared and if so their value has been correctly stated? It is true that for a fee a member of the public or an organisation can ask for a particular declaration to be made available. But it becomes somewhat of a cumbersome task.
Would it not be more convenient if not a public duty for the Elections Commissioner to display all these declarations on the commission website so that they could be easily accessed by the public?
Beside the ownership of assets outside the country there is another matter. It is known several politicians are educating their children abroad. Some even have two or three children living and studying outside the country.
Unless they have inherited wealth or have made their money through legitimate means it is extremely with tuition fees in many countries being hiked especially for foreign students. In the UK, for instance, foreign students have to pay more as tuition fees than local or European Union students.
A foreign student would have to pay as much as £ 12,000 for a course that does not involve laboratory and clinical degree which could cost nearly £ 35,000. If one were to add living costs it certainly would be excessive for most Sri Lankans.
Surely it is legitimate for the public to ask how it has been possible for some politicians to afford to have children study abroad if they do not have additional income legitimately acquired.
This applies to public officials as well. The public turns its collective gaze on politicians and forgets public officials who are equally answerable especially if they are in positions of power and influence.
Our Bribery Act of 1954 was amended in 1958 to include what came to be known as the "illicit enrichment" clause. This was a provision that Hong Kong borrowed from us when it was setting up its Independent Commission Against Corruption ( ICAC). Under that it was an offence if a person has acquired property, and such property being money, which cannot be part of his own income or receipts; or property being property other than money that cannot be properly acquired with any part of his known income. The burden of proof lay with the individual concerned.
Something on these lines has been incorporated in the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).
If corruption is to be reduced, if not eliminated, it requires we have institutions such as Hong Kong's ICAC and more vigorous pursuit of the objectives of UNCAC and the Stolen Assets Recovery Unit ( STAR), an initiative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Bank set up to fight corruption by recovering stolen assets.
At the same time it is essential that the new parliament adopts a Code of Conduct for MPs setting out clearly their duties, obligations and principles of conduct which should be entrusted to an independent Parliamentary Commissioner or Ombudsman who rigorously implements it as in the UK.
For far too long, MPs have been considered by much of society to be a public liability for while MPs enjoyed the perks of office, some of them have also been seen to be a liability that the country should not be asked to bear.
If as some demand they want the number of MPs to be increased then it is all the more reason why such a code to be strictly observed, should be a priority of the new parliament.
Are we expecting too much?