Like the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and members of the government have declared their assets. However, if the law imposes transparency on the head of state, it protects other officials by granting them a certain confidentiality. Ofnac justifies this discretion by the limits set by current legislation.
The controversy surrounding asset declarations, these revealing mirrors of the fortunes of senior officials upon entering and leaving office, remains a hot topic, both in public opinion and in the mysteries of the State. Yesterday Tuesday, this question was debated during a seminar organized by the National Office for the Fight against Fraud and Corruption (Ofnac) in partnership with Amnesty International Senegal. This seminar, devoted to the prevention and fight against corruption, notably highlighted a significant intervention by Doudou Wade, former parliamentarian.
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With incisive words, Doudou Wade denounced what he considers to be an inconsistency in current legislation. According to him, demanding that the President of the Republic make public his declaration of assets while protecting those of the Prime Minister and ministers is paradoxical. “The President of the Republic makes his declaration of assets to the Constitutional Council, which is obliged to make it public. How can we, in this context, protect the Prime Minister and his ministers? This makes no sense,” he said, his words resonating as a call for consistency and transparency.
This high-quality seminar also allowed Ofnac to lift the veil on recent changes to the laws governing its missions and the declaration of assets. Serigne Bassirou Guèye, president of Ofnac, chaired the opening ceremony, emphasizing the objective of these legislative adjustments: broadening the scope of application of laws, strengthening control mechanisms and, above all, injecting an additional dose transparency in the system. But, if the question of the accessibility of heritage data still stirs up passions, Ofnac scrupulously refers to the limits set by the legislation in force. Indeed, during its meeting of March 21, 2014, the National Assembly adopted Law No. 2014-17, promulgated shortly after, on April 2, 2014, by the Head of State. This text, relating to the declaration of assets, sets out the terms: “The President of the National Assembly, the First Quaestor of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister, the ministers, the president of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (Cese ), all credit administrators, revenue and expenditure authorizers, as well as public accountants carrying out operations relating to an annual total greater than or equal to one billion CFA francs”, must comply with it within three months following their appointment.
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Ofnac as defender of the existing legal framework
In this drive for transparency, Ms. Aminatou Diop, head of the division receiving and processing asset declarations at Ofnac, confirms that the Prime Minister as well as all members of the government have respected their obligations in this area. Some directors general have also followed suit, demonstrating a moral and legal commitment in the quest for exemplary governance: “To date, the Prime Minister and all members of the government have made their asset declaration. But Ofnac does not have the prerogatives to make public the content of asset declarations, whether upon entry or exit of a taxable person,” she clarified.
A point of view shared by Babacar Ba, vice-president of Ofnac, who stands as a defender of the existing legal framework. He insists that the institution cannot exceed its scope of action. “Today, the texts do not allow Ofnac to make public the data contained in asset declarations. However, it’s all about advocacy. If the Senegalese consider it necessary to move towards the publication of this data, the law will have to be modified,” he underlines, thus opening a gap in the debate.
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For Babacar Ba, equality of responsibilities between senior public figures remains obvious: “He who can do more can do less. The law requiring the President of the Republic to make public the data from his asset declaration could just as easily apply to other members of the government. »
Senegal, faithful to its international commitments and in application of Law No. 2012-22 of December 27, 2012 relating to the Code of Transparency in the Management of Public Finances, had adopted Law No. 2014-17 of April 2, 2014 on the declaration of assets. To further strengthen the adequacy between the texts and contemporary realities, the latter has recently evolved: law no. 2024-07 of February 9, 2024 was modified, reaffirming the desire to adapt Ofnac to its times and its needs. challenges.
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