By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The Anti-Corruption Commission has extended until close of business today the date for assets declaration by public officials.
The commission announced in a statement on Friday that its offices across the country would be opened on Saturday which was to have been the deadline for the declarations failing which there would be consequences.
But the Commission says Saturday was met with a heavy downpour in the capital. In a statement on Saturday the ACC said it had given a grace period until today, Monday.
The ACC had announced that the deadline for the submission of asset declaration forms was on the 31st of May, which was on Sunday. It says a good number of public officials have defaulted against the process.
"Pursuant to Section 119(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008 (as Amended in 2019) all public officers who are to declare their assets and have failed to do so are now in default. Section 119(1) states as follows:
“Every public officer shall, within three months of becoming a public officer, deposit with the Commission a declaration of his income, assets and liabilities and thereafter in every two years that he is public officer, but not later than 31st March of that second year, deposit further declaration of his income, assets and liabilities and also while leaving office,” an earlier statement from the ACC had warned.
Public officials who haven’t submitted their asset declaration forms are in a race for time after this grace period.
Patric Sandi, Director of Public Education at the ACC told Politico that the law made provisions for the Commissioner to extend the date for the submission of the Assets Declaration Forms for not more than six months which he says was what the Commissioner had done by extending the date to 31st May 2020 and now the 1st of June.
"Pursuant to Section 119(4) of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008, the Commissioner can extend the declaration period up to a period of six months, which is what the commissioner has done by given an extension to the 31st May 2020 which is even less than that but that does not mean he will extend again so anyone who fail to submit on or before the said date will face the penalties," he said.
According to ACC law, defaulters could face penalties including, suspension, withholding of salary and dismissal.
Government is the biggest employer in the country; this means the ACC will have to process thousands of forms every year for the same process.
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