To this end, an online-platform that will allow officials to file asset and interest declarations has been launched.
The establishment of the platform was foreseen by the Economic Governance and Citizen Participation project (Gouvernance économique et participation citoyenne) of the Higher Authority forState Control and the Fight Against Corruption (Autorité Supérieure de Contrôle d’Etat et de Lutte contre la Corruption – ASCE-LC). The country had received 473 million CFA francs (roughly 843,000 USD) from the World Bank to implement the project.
In order to use the electronic declaration system, an official should meet the following requirements:
- be subject to the declaration system in accordance with Law of 3 March 2015 No. 004-2015/CNT “On the Prevention and the Fight against Corruption in Burkina Faso” (Loi №004-2015/CNT du 03 mars 2015 portant prévention et répression de la corruption au Burkina Faso);
- have a scanned copy of the national identity card (Carte Nationale d'Identité Burkinabè);
- have at hand the information about interests and assets of the declarant and his/her associates that should be downloaded on the platform;
- register on the platform using the account information provided by the ASCE-LC (URL-link, identifier).
As per the Law, the following categories should file their declarations via the platform:
- persons holding positions in civil and military service in the bodies of executive, legislative and judicial branches of power, either appointed or elected, permanently or temporarily, remunerated or non-remunerated regardless of the hierarchical level or seniority;
- servants of local or regional government bodies;
- persons holding public offices, including ambassadors, consuls general etc.;
- employees of public enterprises and other organisations owned wholly or partially by the State or organisations that provide public services;
- heads of media outlets, print media, non-governmental organisations that receive foreign funding;
- any official if the ASCE-LC considers it necessary that he/she files a declaration.
However, according to the amendments made to the Law in 2018, the head of the State, government members, the president and deputies of the National Assembly are not subject to the obligation of online disclosure: they will continue submitting paper declarations.
Under the Law, the declarations are filed in the following cases:
- upon taking office;
- annually by the set deadline;
- in the event of substantial changes in interests or assets;
- upon termination;
- at the request of the ASCE-LC.
The failure to file the declaration or the submission of incomplete or inaccurate information incur liability and may be punishable also by the deprivation of liberty for up to five years.
The obligation to gather, process and store electronic declarations and their verification with the aim to detect inconsistencies or indicators of violations rests with the ASCE-LC, which considerably expands the anti-corruption functions of the authority.
The platform is being tested in a pilot mode: 659 persons subject to asset and interest disclosure were registered to verify its functioning, make necessary adjustments and enhance its user-friendliness. A brief user’s guide on the platform is provided on the ASCE-LC website.
