Govt asks all its staffers to submit wealth statements

The government has instructed all its employees to submit their wealth statements as per the existing rules.

This directive was issued in a notice signed by Senior Secretary Md Mokhlesur Rahman of the Ministry of Public Administration yesterday.

Details regarding the process and deadlines for submission will be communicated to the relevant parties through upcoming meetings.

Under existing laws, every government employee is required to declare their immovable and movable assets at the time of joining service.

Subsequently, they must submit a statement on any changes in their assets every five years through the appointing authority to the government.

Although this procedure is part of the conduct regulations to combat corruption and ensure accountability, compliance has often been lacking.

On August 25, Chief Adviser to the interim government, Prof Muhammad Yunus, in his address to the nation said, "Government employees should regularly submit their wealth statements.‍"

"All our advisers will publish their asset details as soon as possible. Regular asset disclosure will be made mandatory for all government servants," he added.

Talking to The Daily Star, Mohidul Islam, additional secretary (rules wing) of the public administration ministry, said the government employees must submit an account of their assets, including their families and dependents, as per the existing rules.

He, however, said, "A process to amend the existing rules is underway to make them stricter. But for now, the government employees will have to submit their wealth statement following the existing rules."

According to section 13 (1) of Government Servant Conduct Rules-1979, every government servant shall, on entering service, hand over to the government, through proper authority, info on all movable and immovable property, including shares, certificates, securities, insurance policies, and ornaments of a total value of Tk 50,000 or more owned by him or his family members.

They will have to mention the name of the district in which the property is located, disclose details on each type of ornament worth over Tk 50,000, and provide any other information if required by the government through general or special orders, said the section.

However, the existing rule does not apply to the subordinates of railways, metropolitan police, and lower ranks of police and border guards.

There are around 15 lakh civil servants currently working in the country.

Feroz Mia, a former additional secretary of the public administration ministry, told The Daily Star that an example must first be made by submitting the accounts of the secretaries of the government to the administration.

"Then others will be encouraged to follow suit," he said.

The 1979 rules initially mandated the submission of asset accounts every year. Since the rules were not followed, it was amended in 2002 with a provision of submitting wealth accounts every five years.

This too is not being implemented, said officials of the public administration ministry.