•  Elected representatives to remain subject to full public scrutiny under revised law
•  CIABOC proposals to limit access draw criticism from transparency advocates and Opposition
•  Amendments to protect privacy of other declarants while strengthening accountability

The Government is opposed to restricting public access to the asset and liability declarations of elected representatives, despite supporting amendments to the Anti-Corruption Act, No. 09 of 2023 aimed at preventing the misuse of publicly available declarations and protecting the privacy of other declarants, Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake said.

His remarks came amid debate over amendments proposed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), which drew criticism from civil society organisations, transparency advocates and Opposition parties over concerns that the changes could weaken public access to asset declarations.

Among the proposed amendments is a provision restricting the use of published redacted declarations. Under the proposed changes, a person obtaining such a declaration would be allowed to use it only for submission to an officer or institution specified under the Act. Any use that violates the declarant’s privacy would become an offence punishable by a fine of up to Rs 100,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.

Addressing Parliament yesterday (6), Rathnayake said the Act had introduced a major reform by requiring senior public officials and political leaders to declare their assets and liabilities under Sections 86 and 88.

“When the law first came into force, around 300 individuals, from the President downwards, were required to submit printed asset and liability declarations. The process was subsequently amended to an online, centralised electronic system. This expanded the number of persons required to file declarations to around 160,000,” he said.

He noted that Section 88, which deals with public access, gave the public the right to obtain and inspect those declarations through the official website.

“That was a major step forward for transparency and public access. These declarations contain not only information relating to the individuals concerned but also details relating to their children. However, it has become very clear that some irresponsible individuals, including people claiming to be members of the media, have abused these provisions,” he said.

Rathnayake alleged that even Ministers had become victims of such misuse, with portions of their asset declarations being distorted and circulated publicly with misinterpretations.

“Ensuring public access is a positive and democratic measure introduced through the Act. But it has, to some extent, turned into an unnecessary intrusion into people’s privacy,” he said.

He said CIABOC had therefore decided to amend the law.

“Under the existing provisions, all declarations submitted under the public access mechanism must be published on the website and can be obtained by anyone. CIABOC had proposed placing certain limitations on that public access. However, we, the Government, have taken a different position regarding elected representatives. Our position as a Government is that those limitations should not apply to public representatives. Anyone should continue to be able to obtain their asset and liability declarations,” Rathnayake said.

He added that the proposed amendments should instead focus on protecting the privacy of public officials and other categories of declarants.

“Being a public representative is not a job. The public has a right to know about the assets of elected representatives and their relatives. That is the position that we are proposing as a Government,” he said.

Rathnayake said the Government had decided to amend the draft Bill issued last month (July) through a Gazette notification to revise the Act.

He said the proposed amendments would ensure that the asset and liability declarations of public representatives remain available to the public, while strengthening transparency measures relating to declarations made by elected officials.

The Act includes provisions requiring certain categories of individuals to declare their assets and liabilities as part of efforts to prevent and combat corruption.

The revised draft is expected to be presented after the necessary amendments are completed.