The Office of Ombudsman has instructed government agencies to take action against some of their employees who failed to declare their wealth as required by law.About 60 failed to meet the deadline.Civil servants are required to submit their income, assets and liabilities for verification by the Office of Ombudsman before June, 30 of every year, but some leaders failed to send in their wealth declaration forms despite persistent pleas from the Ombudsman’s office.Jeanne Mwisaneza, the Director of Wealth Declarations Unit, revealed yesterday that her office had requested several institutions and ministries to discipline their employees who failed to meet the deadline.“The number is not big this time,” Mwisaneza said, adding that some ministries have already taken action against their employees. Though she didn’t reveal the nature of punishments handed to the errant employees, she revealed that those who delayed but had convincing reasons were exonerated.Mwisaneza had explained in the past that sometimes leaders fail to declare their wealth in time because some keep changing jobs, while others go for further studies outside the country by the time declarations forms are forwarded to their respective institutions.The 2006 wealth declaration law was passed to strengthen the fight against corruption through increased accountability and transparency by leaders in government.The idea behind the declarations is that officials who amass wealth beyond what their earnings can justify should be investigated and punished.They include the President, Prime Minister, ministers, judges, MPs, Police, Army, Prisons officers, heads of departments in central and local governments, district councillors, and leaders in public bodies and diplomats, among others.
