28 Mar 2023

 Ethics and Integrity Directorate (EID) was established to fight corruption and required leaders and other elite personality to declare their assets establishing how they were acquired.

This was said by Minister for State President, Mr Kabo Morwaeng when he presented EID’s budget proposals for the 2023/2024 financial year in Parliament recently.

“It is unfortunate that some scores of the society including some legislators are of the view that the Ethics and Integrity Directorate was established to engage and question whoever is seen to be accumulating wealth,” Mr Morwaeng said.

He indicated that there was nothing wrong with one accumulating assets and government was not against that.

“The only thing that the law seeks to establish is how someone has acquired such assets and those whose wealth is questionable will in accordance with provision of the law will be taken to task. We must encourage our people to engage in profitable and lawful businesses and accumulate wealth,” he said.

He added that government would by all means possible empower businesses and individuals to lawfully accumulate assets.

“Inspection of one’s assets is done in accordance with the law, not to humiliate or target certain individuals. The law is meant to ensure transparency not to willingly and without any cause expose anyone,” he said.

Responding to issues raised by some Members of Parliament, Minister Morwaeng said the law on declaration of assets was enforced and among other positive attributes, it advocated for transparency.

“It has become apparent that understanding on how the directorate operates and stands was,” he said, thus called for urgent need to intensify public education on the EID mandate.

Of recent, Mr Morwaeng said the Directorate was moving across the country addressing council sessions.

He added that by January 13, this year, EID had received 3 371 declarations out of which 1 242 qualified for inclusion in the register of declarations.

“The Directorate continues to write to declarants to address omissions or inaccuracies in their declarations as identified by the Directorate,” he said.

Again, he said the EID continued to receive and assets declarations from declarants.     

  However, Mr Morwaeng said staff shortage delayed assessment of the declarations and also had a negative impact on other initiatives of the Directorate such as updating the register and availing it for public inspection as well as implementation of other monitoring provisions of the Act such as verification and analysis of declarations.

Further, Mr Morwaeng said the EID was also engaged in the development of educational literature relating to declarants compliance levels and delivery of statutory mandate in general.

Earlier, Sefhare/Ramokgonami MP, Dr Kesitegile Gobotswang was of the view that the Directorate was meant to guide integral conduct and trust on the leaders. 

Dr Gobotswang said the Directorate was established to investigate how one acquired assets after it was observed that some individuals after getting into positions of leadership, acquired assets overnight which was questionable and not commensurate with their earnings.

However, he said the law was not doing what was expected by the society as the register of the declared assets and liabilities was never made public. He also wondered if the Directorate had the power to ascertain the credibility of what was declared.

He added that the Directorate was not independent because it was under the Office of the President. He also said the Directorate must not be selective but rather protect the integrity of all.

Shashe West MP, Mr Fidelis Molao concurred that what had been declared be made public adding however that “an individual is not obliged from making their personal assets public. I believe one has the right and was at liberty to get a list of what they had declared from the Directorate and make it public.”

Supporting the proposed budget for the EID, Palapye MP, Mr Onneetse Ramogapi said the Directorate was a critical component of a democratic nation because other than fulfilling democratic principles it also fought corruption.

“It is unfortunate that the Act on declaration of assets does not make it a criminal offence when one does not declare their assets.

 If applied accordingly, the law on declaration of assets will assist in fighting wealth acquired through criminality,” Mr Ramogapi said.

In his comments, Mr Molebatsi Molebatsi of Mmadinare had argued that the law on declaration was a welcome development therefore urged government to fund the Directorate adequately so that it can achieve its mandate.

Mr Molebatsi said the law would assist in identifying those who had acquired wealth through unscrupulous means and deter people from doing such crime.

“The integrity held by the leadership will reflect on the status of the country and therefore where the leadership is found to be engaged or acquiring assets through crime, the integrity of the country will suffer. 

Business people will not invest in a country racked by criminal leadership,” he said.

In addition, Mr Molebatsi said while appeared that the law did not allow release of the register for public consumption, politicians must be exemplary and make their registered assets public.

Mr Molebatsi also emphasised the need for the EID to be given capacity in order to enable it to execute its mandate. Subsequently, Parliament approved 

the EID proposed budget of over P23.1 million from which over P20.4 million would cover the recurrent budget and P2.7 million under the development budget.ENDS