When will the income declarations of Tajik officials become public? VIDEO
It will take Tajikistan at least two more years to be ready to publish data on the income and property of government officials. At present, this information remains a secret to taxpayers.
Many civil servants, despite their low salaries, possess immense wealth, owning expensive cars, country houses, and apartments in prestigious areas, raising questions about the transparency of their work and abuse of their official powers.
"We continue to study the issue"
For several years, Tajik civil servants have been submitting property declarations to the relevant authorities. This data is not officially made public, and taxpayers know nothing about the officials' property.
Head of the Civil Service Agency Juma Davlat stated at a press conference on January 30 in response to Radio Ozodi's question, "We continue to study this issue. As soon as the project for the updated declaration is ready, we will inform the media about it."
In 2019, Juma Davlat, director of the Civil Service Agency under the President of Tajikistan, stated that Tajik society "is not ready to disclose information about officials' incomes" because the public consciousness has not reached "the level of European countries" yet. At present, a working group consisting of representatives of ministries and departments is discussing how to do it.
Following an order by President Emomali Rahmon, Tajik civil servants were obliged, according to the laws of the Republic of Tajikistan "On Public Service" (Article 23) and "On Combating Corruption" (Article 8), to report their annual incomes and their main sources. But this information has never been officially published.
A small survey of Radio Ozodi journalists in the capital showed that people have mixed opinions on this issue. Some do not consider it important, while others are convinced that declaring income and property is a way to ensure transparency and combat corruption.
"And the neighbors know, and subordinates"
"Which rich person would admit to acquiring property and income? No one will do that. Officials generally remain silent about it. Although we already know what they own. Both their neighbors and their subordinates know. Frankly speaking, this issue should be resolved by parliament," believes one of those surveyed.
"I don't want anyone to know about my income and property. And that's why I don't want to know such information about others. There are already enough envious people," says another interviewee.
The publication of data on the income and property of government officials, from ordinary employees to the president, is a common practice in many developed countries. However, Tajik officials are not only uninterested in declaring their incomes, but also clearly fear the disclosure of information about their property.
Lawyer Shokirjon Hakimov believes that the lack of control over the activities of civil servants by the parliament and civil society has led to the public's lack of knowledge about their incomes and property.
"It can be easily proven that a civil servant's total income, considering all the benefits, does not correspond to the reality of their life," he said.
According to him, the publication of information about the income and property of Tajik officials is one of the conditions of international institutions, however, due to the lack of political will, it is not being fulfilled.
There are about 20,000 civil servants in Tajikistan. The Civil Service Agency under the President of Tajikistan previously stated that inaccuracies in the data provided in the declaration or failure to submit an income declaration to the tax authority may lead to dismissal from service or refusal to be admitted to public service.
Do Tajik officials report their income in two years?
Artificial intelligence capabilities were used in the translation of this publication
