By Spy Uganda Correspondent
Tanzania: President John Pompe Magufuli on Thursday this week ordered the country’s 15,000 public leaders to submit their assets declaration forms to the Public Leaders Ethics Secretariat before the December 30, 2020, deadline.
Magufuli made the declaration while speaking at Chamwino State House in the capital Dodoma shortly after he had sworn in Sivangilwa Mwangesi as the new Commissioner of the Ethics Secretariat adding that “declaration of assets by public leaders is required by law.”
He said in his address that he believed all public leaders, including ministers, regional commissioners, and district commissioners, will fill and submit the forms declaring their assets before the deadline.
“Myself I have not yet filled the forms but I am in the process of filling them before the deadline,” Magufuli revealed
However, the head of state discouraged the filing of the declaration of assets forms online, saying that could lead to information leakage.
“Public leaders that are obliged to fill the forms should download them, fill them and submit them physically to the Ethics Secretariat, we are not supposed to be that open. Hackers can change forms filled online and make them look not original,” said Magufuli.
In April this year, Tanzania’s Ethics Secretariat introduced an online version of declaration known as the Online Declaration System (ODS) that would enable public leaders to fill digitally instead of subjecting one to report to the office physically.
The Secretariat Chairman, Judge (Rtd) Harold Nsekela, said that the new system would be more efficient for the public leaders to fill, adding that exercise to fill out the declaration form for public leaders will commence in October and end December 2020.
Nsekela also added that the goal of introducing the ODS was to keep pace with the current changes taking place in the world, adding that it is in line with the e-government programs.
“Every public leader should comply with the law and fill the declaration forms in accordance with the Public Leadership Code of Ethics Act, No 13 of 1995 directed to monitor ethics and behavior of public leaders,” he said.
The Public Leaders Ethics Secretariat is mandated to receive and verify declarations of assets and liabilities which are required to be made by public leaders.
