The Office of the Ombudsman, this week, announced that the 361 public servants who failed to declare or under-declared their wealth would be penalised in accordance with the law.

The Government has set up strict measures to curb corruption, and one of the prominent tools is the 2006 Wealth Declaration law which requires all leaders to declare their wealth, annually by June 30.

To facilitate the process, an online system for declaration was put in place to ensure that deadlines were met and the officials declare their wealth, from wherever they may be.

And, even after the deadline passed, the Office of the Ombudsman gave a grace period to defaulters, however, of the 7,058 civil servants, 6,675 complied with the law.

Wealth declaration is one of the policies that demonstrate the level of accountability expected of public servants, besides promoting a culture of transparency, principles that are key to the attainment of a corruption-free society.

The move, by the Office of the Ombudsman, to sanction defaulters of the law is welcome, however, this process should be done in the open and the sanctioned defaulters identified in public. This will not only deter potential defaulters, but will also guarantee more respect for the laws in place.

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