Tracing Hidden Wealth

Integrity, transparency, accountability and the rule of law form the cornerstone of civil service. These attributes help curb corruption and earn public trust. Employees with integrity practice ethical values and maintain fiscal discipline. While transparency enables the public to learn how the governance system functions and serves them, accountability makes the employees responsible for their duties. When they are held accountable for their actions, there are fewer chances of irregularities and malfeasance in public administration. These virtues are equally applicable to politics. Good leadership is supposed to abide by ethics, transparency and discipline. Immoral leaders are a burden to the nation because they plunder resources and make the people poor. Development takes a backseat and the nation’s prestige turns to dust if corrupt politicians are allowed to hold the reins of government.

However, these normative values are often ignored by the politicians and bureaucrats, giving rise to the anomalies in the society. If we scrutinise the politics and economic conditions of our nation spanning more than three decades, we find a pessimistic scenario. Frequent changes of governments and a string of corruption scams occurring in different periods have vitiated the nation's inner vitality and eroded the people's faith in the political leadership. Poverty, unemployment, growing internal and external debts and economic dependency are the direct results of bad governance and political chicanery. Last September, the Gen Z youths took to the streets, demanding stern action against corruption and job opportunities for them. The new government is now stepping up measures in the spirit of the Gen Z uprising that made a clarion call for sweeping reforms in governance, politics and economy.  

In order to create a clean administration, the government under Prime Minister Balendra Shah has started investigating high-profile politicians accused of amassing wealth disproportionately. On April 15, it formed a powerful Property Inquiry Commission (PIC) to collect and investigate the assets of current and former public officials, including politicians, civil servants, judges and security personnel and their family members. According to a news report in this daily on Wednesday, over 250 complaints against senior government officials and public office holders have been registered with the PIC within two weeks. Around 1,000 government employees have been visiting daily to submit their property declarations. The commission aims to bring around 25,000 employees, office-bearers, and politically affiliated appointees under investigation, including former prime ministers, ministers, and former members of parliament.

Those living abroad can submit their property details within two weeks of their return to Nepal. In the first phase, the commission is investigating the assets of those who held public office from the fiscal year 2005/6 to April 2026. Individuals who joined government service in 2001 (2058 B.S.) and are still working are also required to submit details of their assets. The deadline for the property detail submission is June 13, 2026. Under the second phase, the Commission will collect property details for the public officer holders who served in different capacities from 1991/92. Currently, 365 retired secretaries, one former additional secretary, 15 chief secretaries, and 1,771 joint secretaries are receiving pensions. Likewise, 15 individuals who served as heads of constitutional bodies and six secretaries of the Federal Parliament Secretariat are also pension recipients. The Commission is expected to impartially investigate the assets of the public office holders and recommend action against those who have amassed property illegally, setting a milestone in establishing good governance in the country.