President, PM and Cabinet to declare their wealth- PM Khaire

The President, Prime Minister and the cabinet will be required to declare their property and be subjected to an audit when leaving office, Prime Minister Hassan Khaire announced Tuesday setting an unprecedented bar whose implementation could remain a tall order.

In what could be seen as efforts at bolstering good governance practices, the Prime Minister said all the newly appointed ministers and their deputies will have to declare their earthly belongings and ‘starting with him and the President.

The PM did not however elaborate on how the measures will be effected including if the exercise will be overseen by an independent body as is practice in other jurisdictions.

Somalia has for the tenth year now been ranked the most corrupt country in the world in company of such countries as North Korea and South Sudan and the PM’s move to his government open up to the public could be a positive move towards taming the vice.

“We will require everyone to declare their property, whether in cash or fixed assets and at the end of service, an audit will be conducted to ascertain if there was any embezzlement of funds. This will start with the President and the Prime Minister,” Khaire said.

Crucial institutions responsible for anti-corruption efforts are yet to be established almost five years after the 2012 Provisional Constitution was adopted.

Article 111C of the Provisional Constitution contemplates the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Commission whose mandate among others is ‘to promote integrity, accountability, and proper management of public matters and property’.

President Mohamed Farmaajo pushed a strong anti-corruption agenda during his pre-election campaigns.