Assets of govt officers to be made public

ISLAMABAD: In order to meet the structural benchmark requirements of the International Monetary Fund, the government is set to get the Civil Servants Act amended from parliament by the end of February 2025 to disclose the assets of  government officials from grade 17 to 22.

On the other hand, the Technical Mission on Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment of the IMF held a virtual discussion with the Federal Board of Revenue on Monday on human resources, integrity management cell, recruitment process, remuneration and other related issues.

The IMF proposal states that corruption, red tape (bureaucratic hurdles) and a weak business environment remain fundamental issues in Pakistan’s socio-economic development. Different interest groups have the ability to influence government affairs to block or reverse reforms. The technical mission will visit Pakistan in April to prepare its report, which will be published by the end of July 2025, as the structural standards of the IMF program.

The government has agreed with the IMF that by amending the Civil Servants Act, the assets of government officials (including those held in their and their family’s name) will be digitally filed and made publicly accessible.

In this context, the authorities have requested the support of the IMF for governance and corruption diagnostic assessment and  committed to publish the report with an action plan. 

Furthermore, the government has also assured the IMF that it will issue a federal regulation by the end of September to formalize its full compliance report under the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the report will be published as soon as the review is completed.

In view of the Supreme Court’s decision, the government will also consider necessary amendments to the NAB Ordinance to improve the independence and effectiveness of the corruption watchdog.

In addition, provincial anti-corruption bodies will be empowered to investigate corruption-related money laundering cases, obtain financial information from the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU), and conduct financial investigations with appropriate resources and training.