The Ethics and Integrity Directorate is responsible for promoting and reinforcing integrity and accountability in public office by receiving and analysing declarations of interests, income, assets and liabilities declarations of certain categories of persons; and verifying information contained in such declarations in order to detect corruption, money laundering or the acquisition of property from proceeds of any other offence.
The Ethics and Integrity Directorate (EID) was established by section 4 of the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Act, No. 12 of 2019, as amended by Act No. 1 of 2020. The Directorate started its operations in January 2020, and has been receiving declarations since February 2020.
The asset declaration system requires specified categories of persons to make periodic declarations of their interests, income, assets and liabilities. The Directorate is thus responsible for the safe custody of the declarations for monitoring purposes. In addition, the Directorate builds a national culture of ethical conduct and prevents unethical behaviour in public office by developing and promoting a Code of Ethics, standards and best practices for ethical conduct.
The Directorate is headed by a Director-General and a Deputy Director General. It has two (2) major Divisions, each headed by a Director.
The Divisions are:
- Monitoring and Legal Enforcement and
- Asset Declaration and Management.
Monitoring and Legal Enforcement does the following key functions:
- Receipt and assessment of declarations of interests, income, assets and liabilities
- Analysis and verification of information in the declarations
- Keeping the declarations in safe custody.
- Maintaining registers of persons who have declared on time and those who have been issued with notices, by the Directorate, as well as persons upon whom administrative, criminal and other penalties have been imposed for failing to comply with the Act.
- Monitoring the interests, income, assets and liabilities of a certain category of persons, for the purposes of detecting and preventing corruption, money laundering and acquisition of property from proceeds of any other offence.
- Issuing of notices to persons who fail to declare on time.
- Imposing administrative penalties on persons who fail to declare on time.
- Referring matters to relevant authorities for appropriate action, including criminal action, where necessary.
- Investigating suspected or alleged non-compliance with the Act.
Asset Declaration and Management includes the following functions:
- Development of guidelines on conflict of interest.
- Review of conflict of interest declarations to determine declarants’ adherence to the guidelines.
- Notification of declarants and relevant authorities of actual or potential conflict of interest based on review of conflict of interest declarations.
- Development of a Code of Ethics, and overseeing its implementation
- Investigating complaints on any breach of the code of ethics.
- Collaboration with other entities on the development and promotion of standards and best practice on ethical conduct.
What is asset declaration?
Asset Declaration is a mechanism by which a public official must periodically submit information about his/her interests, income, assets and liabilities and those of their spouses, dependents and children below the age of 18 years.
To declare means to make known formally and officially information about ones’ interests, income, assets and liabilities.
Who should declare?
Sections 3 and 6 of the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Act states who should make a declaration under the Act.
Administrative and Judicial arms of Government, Private Enterprises and others, as the case may be.
Political Leadership
- President
- Vice-President
- Former Presidents
- Ministers
- Assistant Ministers
- Members of Parliament
- Speaker of Parliament
- Deputy Speaker of Parliament
- Leader of the Opposition
- Member of the National Assembly
- Council Chairman/Mayor
- Councillors
Judiciary
- Chief Justice
- President of the Court of Appeal
- Justice of Appeal
- President of the Industrial Court
- Judge of the High Court
- Judge of the Industrial Court
- Registrar and Master of the High Court
- Registrar of the Court of Appeal
- Registrar of the Industrial Court
- Magistrate
- An officer appointed by the Judicial Service Commission
Public Service
- Permanent Secretary to the President
- Attorney General
- Director of Public Prosecutions
- Commander of BDF
- Commissioner of Police/ Prisons
- Permanent Secretaries
- Director-General EID/FIA /DIS/DCEC
- Secretary of IEC
- Ombudsman
- Auditor-General
- Receiver
- Public officer appointed by the President
- Head of a Government Department
- Rank of Colonel and above at BDF
- Rank of Assistant Commissioner and above at BPS
- Rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner and above of Prison Services Botswana
- District Commissioner
- Deputy/Assistant Commissioner
- Council Secretary
- Deputy/Senior Assistant Council Secretary
- Town Clerk
- Deputy Town Clerk
- Chairperson and other members of the Public Service Commission
- All other Public officers at Deputy Director level and above
Other Declarants
- Court President (Urban)
- Deputy Court President (Urban)
- Chairperson of a local authority (e.g. a land board, District or Town Council)
- Board member of a local authority
- Board member of a public body (e.g. parastatals and companies in charitable organisation, trust etc.)
- Chief Executive Officer of a public body
- An officer of a public body at Deputy Director level and above
- Such other officers as may be prescribed by the Minister
DURATION OF DECLARATION
A person who has held any of the positions listed above is required to continue to make declarations for a period of five years after the person ceases to hold the office.
HOW DO I DECLARE ASSETS?
Declarants complete a prescribed form.
(A step-by-step guide for COMPLETING A DECLARATION OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES FORM - A HANDBOOK FOR DECLARANTS)
NOTES:
First and foremost, a declarant needs to appreciate that the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities form consists of three (3) parts:
a. The Declarants section
b. The Spouses’ section
c. The Children and Dependents’ section
Under each part, there are two (2) sections, the first section encompasses all properties while the second section encompasses properties that have been transferred within the past five (5) years and liabilities.
When completing the form:
1. Complete the whole form in block letters
2. Complete all the fields on the form and indicate with N/A if the field is not applicable
3. Sign for any cancellations made.
WHEN TO DECLARE?
- A person who is either appointed, assumes office or takes an oath of allegiance shall make a declaration within 60 days of appointment, assumption of office or of taking of oath.
- Second and subsequent declarations are to be made every 24 months after the first declaration.
- Whenever the value of a declarant’s interest, income, assets and liabilities is so altered as to be reduced or increased in value by a minimum value of P200 000, the declarant shall make a fresh declaration, within 30 days of such alteration.
POINTS OF DECLARATION
It is worth noting that not all persons making declarations can submit directly to the EID. Depending on the type of declarant, declarations shall be made;
a. To the Director General
b. To the Speaker of the National Assembly
c. To the Permanent Secretary to the President
d. To the Permanent Secretary
e. To such other officers as may be prescribed
(Refer to Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Act section 6)
