The usual farce of the timing and manner in which our prime minister, some ministers and parliamentary secretaries went about publicly declaring their assets recently hit the headlines once more.

Of course, there were no expectations that, after such declarations, any one of them would make it to the Forbes annual list of the world’s billionaires. Rather, the impression was given that most of them have been living on meagre means for quite some time. In other words, some declarations are suspect.

The system has really got to change. It is absolutely ridiculous. They can put down pretty much what they please and how they please and, if they have a company, all they do is list the company even though the company can hold anything, like any number of buildings.

As it is, in Malta, the duty of members of the house of representatives to declare their assets only emerges from the provisions of the code of ethics for MPs, which appears as the first schedule of the Standards in Public Life Act (chapter 570 of the laws of Malta).

Over and above that, there is, then, a separate code of ethics for ministers and parliamentary secretaries, which appears as the second schedule of the Standards in Public Life Act. In essence, even here, they are directed to adhere to standards for a sense of service, integrity, transparency and accountability, among other guidelines. However, the enforcement of the code is left up to the exclusive discretion of the prime minister.

In 2015, when Joseph Muscat was prime minister, there was a revision of the code of ethics whereby family members were excluded from the declaration of assets and excluded from any definition of conflict of interest. This opened up every possibility for MPs to hide their assets through their spouses, partners and direct family members.

To make things worse, an inadequate asset declaration form has consistently led to inconsistencies and manifest under-declarations being made and, perhaps, encourages MPs to be economical with their declarations. Indeed, when any declaration is, in fact, made, it normally raises more questions than it answers.

So, has the time come, once we are in the process of undertaking a radical and extensive constitutional reform, to enshrine the duty of all MPs, and possibly extend it to all public officials, to declare their assets under our constitution and for the imposition of strong sanctions on those who fail to do so properly?

Asset declarations of ministers, parliamentary secretaries, MPs and public officials are a powerful tool to prevent corruption and detect illicit enrichment and conflicts of interest.

Asset declarations are intended to be available for public scrutiny. Public access to declarations multiplies their anti-corruption value as civil society and journalists often play a crucial role by uncovering irregularities and triggering formal verification of declarations by such authorities as the commissioner for standards, the permanent commission against corruption or the auditor general. This should be the norm in Malta where there is a vibrant civil society and media.

Prevention of corruption and exposing the unexplained wealth of ministers and officials are serious and legitimate public interests. Corruption is a threat to national security and undermines the well-being of citizens. Limitations on the privacy of ministers and public officials by requiring them to disclose their income, assets and liabilities serve the public interest. If done and properly regulated on a constitutional basis, declarations of assets and public access to declared information would be associated with lower levels of perceived corruption.

They can put down pretty much what they please and how they please- Mark Said

Our country’s experience should also indicate that public access could greatly increase the ability of disclosure systems to deliver results.

We should seriously consider making asset declaration a constitutional requirement whereby the prime minister, ministers, parliamentary secretaries, MPs and public office bearers have to declare their income, assets and liabilities to the auditor general or the commissioner for standards.

It should be made mandatory to declare their assets when they are appointed, annually during their tenure and upon resignation or termination. This should go a long way to prevent power abuse, reduce corruption and increase public accountability and public trust in institutions and government legitimacy.

Asset declaration not only aims to monitor wealth variations of such ministers and public officials but also dissuade them from misconduct and protect them from false accusations.

Such a radical reform could be a positive initiative and part of measures to strengthen the oversight responsibility of parliament to enable it to hold the government and state institutions accountable to the people for the power, trust, resources and hope reposed in them.

Further legislation could be enacted to confiscate ill-gotten assets earned by cabinet members and members of parliament after all declared assets and liabilities would have been duly audited.

The current practice of publishing asset declarations has, for too long now, been a card played by our ministers to ostensibly gain the trust of the public. It is time to put a stop to the annual controversy surrounding the topic of asset declarations by members of parliament. If we continue with this charade, asset declarations will never manage to boost the confidence and trust levels of the public.

If we are to instil and sustain a culture of public service values in this beleaguered country, which includes the principles of accountability, integrity and responsibility, our prime minister, ministers and MPs must start leading by example.

Mark Said is a lawyer.