Sri Lanka opposition MP presents private bill to remove secrecy clause in asset declaration act

Sri Lanka opposition MP Eran Wickramaratne has presented a private member’s bill to remove secrecy provisions in the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Act to keep it in line with obligations of disclosure under the Right to Information Act.

Wickramaratne tweeted on Tuesday October 25 that the bill, presented to parliament on October 18, seeks to remove the “archaic secrecy provisions” in the asset declaration act to keep it in line with the principle of maximum disclosure.

The main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP said his bill seeks to achieve this through five aspects:

• First, it seeks to remove the archaic secrecy provisions within the Act to keep it in line with the obligations of disclosure under the Right to Information Act and the principle of maximum disclosure.
  
• Second, the bill ensures that electoral candidates will submit Asset Declaration’s with the nominations.Third, the bill has included the President in the list of individuals to whom this law applies.
• Fourth, the bill ensures that asset declarations are routinely examined and verified at a central authority – the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).
• And fifth, the bill supports law enforcement to pursue asset recovery in the case of stolen assets. This has been specifically included to address the demands from the Aragalaya youth-led street protests to recover stolen assets.

To eliminate or minimise corruption, the example needs to be set by the executive arm of government, said Wickramaratne.

“I call upon all present and past presidents, prime ministers and cabinet ministers to join me in voluntarily making a public declaration of assets and liabilities,” he said. (Colombo/Oct25/2022)