The government on Wednesday asked the ministers, advisers to the primeminister and mayors of the six cities to submit their wealth statement by March 27.
The minister for finance, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, disclosed the decision made at a cabinet meeting.
‘I will issue a letter on Sunday in this regard giving the ministers seven days to submit their wealth statements to the cabinet secretary,’ Muhith said at a briefing at the media centre of the national assembly building.
In the statements, ministers, advisers and city mayors will also need to give detail accounts of the assets of the members of their family.
‘There is a provision for mentioning wealth in the income tax return but the laws bar taxmen to divulge information. This is why we have taken this measure,’ he said.
Ministers, advisers and mayors will need to submit wealth statements from the financial year 2009–2010 and the benchmark will be their wealth statement submitted to the Election Commission in 2008, he said.
Muhith said in keeping with the Awami League’s election pledges, the government also decided that the lawmakers should also submit their wealth statements. ‘I will talk with the speaker and send him a letter for the lawmakers,’ he said.
‘We will also send a letter to the chief justice as he had several times talked about wealth statement of judges. It is not our election pledge but we are writing to the chief justice as he is interested in it,’ Muhith said.
Muhith said submission of wealth statements by ministers was nothing new. ‘During our previous tenure, we also submitted statements to the principal secretary,’ he said.
News Source: The New Age