Develop and publish application for asset declaration data (CI0029)

What is the public interest issue to be addressed by this commitment? Persistence of corruption and related offenses in the management of public affairs. In order to fight effectively against corruption, Côte d'Ivoire has ratified and transposed the African Union Convention on the prevention and fight against corruption. This Convention requires States to create the conditions in order to proceed with the declaration of the assets of their senior officials. Despite the efforts made by the Ivorian State to apply this measure of the said Convention, the data relating to the declaration of the end of functions of public officials and civil servant are difficult to access as well as the disaggregated form of said declarations, in particular on the website of the HABG. This commitment aims to reduce or even eliminate the difficulties linked to the availability of detailed statistics on asset declarations.

What is the commitment? Through this commitment, the HABG intends to strengthen transparency in the practice of asset declaration in Côte d'Ivoire by making available up-to-date and disaggregated statistics on declarations. To achieve this, the HABG intends to set up an integrated IT platform for managing asset declaration data. The main steps in achieving this commitment are: - Recruitment of the technical operator and signature of the collaboration agreement; - Design, development and delivery of the application; - Deployment and training of users; - Production and publication of statistics.

How will commitment contribute to solve the public problem? The implementation of the integrated IT platform for the management of asset declaration data will allow the HABG to effectively and sustainably resolve the problem of availability and access to statistics on the asset declaration. This application will allow the management of data relating to people subject to the declaration of assets and the monitoring of their declarations over the duration of their mandates or functions, in order to continuously produce reliable statistics. It will also integrate 19 dynamic mapping for better visibility and geolocation of information relating to asset declarations.

Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values? - The fulfillment of this commitment responds to the need to further improve the access of populations and civil society to public information. It thus reinforces transparency in the management of information relating to the declaration of assets. - Commitment is relevant for citizen participation because civil society can rely on up-to-date and reliable statistics to guide their interventions in the fight against corruption in which they are involved.

Additional information The estimated budget is 60 million CFA.

Important activity having a verifiable deliverable Start date End date Recruitment of the technical operator and signature of the collaboration agreement January 2021 March 2021 Design, development and delivery of the application April 2021 October 2021 Deployment and user training November 2021 December 2021 Production and publication of statistics January 2022 June 2022

Action Plan Review

Commitment 4: Public Official and Civil Servant Asset Transparency

Asset Transparency Cluster (Commitments 4 and 5)

(High Authority for Good Governance, National Bureau of Technical Studies and Development)

For a complete description of Commitments 4 and 5 included in this cluster, see the action plan: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Cote-dIvoire_Action-Plan_2020-2022_FR.pdf

Context and Objectives

Côte d’Ivoire ratified the United Nations Convention Against Corruption and the African Union Convention on the Prevention and Fight Against Corruption in 2012. [91] Since then, Côte d’Ivoire has worked towards the asset declaration of public officials as a key reform for greater public integrity and good governance. [92]

The High Authority for Good Governance (HABG) is responsible for collecting the asset declaration of public officials. The agency has long sought implementation of an online platform for the submission, management, and publication information related to asset declarations. [93] Obstacles such as security concerns and limited internet penetration in Côte d’Ivoire have so far inhibited this aim. [94]

The HABG proposed the inclusion of Commitments 4 and 5, which build on Commitment 5 of the previous action plan. [95] Previously, Côte d’Ivoire committed to increasing the rate of asset registrants to 90% by June 2020 and enforcing sanctions for noncompliance. [96] However, the declarations of public officials and civil servants when leaving office are not guaranteed to date, and publicly available information on asset declarations is scarce. [97] PSCI-PGO specifically proposed that the commitments revise the law on asset declarations and publish information related to public officials' assets. PSCI-PGO also proposed that the HABG form a multistakeholder forum that includes the public and private sectors, civil society, and the media. However, this suggestion is not reflected in the final commitment text. [98]

Commitments 4 and 5 seek to strengthen the legal and technical framework in the country to increase the government and citizens' access to information on assets held by individuals in positions of authority. Specifically, Commitment 5 promises to review the current legislation to ensure that asset declaration be mandatory for public officials and civil servants while in office. Commitment 4 aims to gather all declarations in an online platform and publish aggregated statistics. ^[99] The government also intends to establish online channels for submission and management of declaration forms. [100] It is not clear whether civil society will participate in the implementation of this commitment; however, it is supported by the United States' Millennium Challenge Corporation. [101]

Potential for Results: Substantial

Annual asset declaration by public officials is currently not mandatory. Decree No. 2014-219 on the modalities of asset declarations establishes that public officials must submit declarations upon entering and leaving public office, within a period of 30 days, as well as in the event of wealth fluctuations. However, there is limited public information available on the assets of public authorities. [102] Additionally, the rate of compliance is low for certain groups, such as parliamentarians, mayors, presidents of general councils, or the defense and security forces. [103] From 2015 to 2020, the total compliance rate was around 79% with magistrates at 96%, members of government at 83%, and local elected officials at 39%. [104] This commitment will make annual asset declaration mandatory. Up-to-date information of public officials' assets is a critical component in the mitigation of corruption and the uncovering of illicitly gained wealth.

This reform also aims to enable digital submission and management of asset declaration forms. Currently, public officials must submit paper forms in person to the HABG or local government offices to be filed with the HABG or the Court of Auditors. [105] The HABG specifies three objectives for the integrated online platform: facilitate asset declaration collection, improve data management, and give public access to disaggregated data. The National Bureau of Technical Studies and Development (BNETD) will develop the platform with a particular aim to address data security concerns that previously held up its creation. The BNETD will “work with the latest technologies in data security and following specifications on security requirements” and incorporate the expertise of the Ivory Coast Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ARTCI) so that “the development and deployment of this platform take into account the requirements of the Law on the protection of personal data.” ^[106]

At the moment, the HABG publishes a list of public officials subject to asset declaration along with an anonymous tally of the number of individuals who submitted declarations by role. [107] While a 2020 report states that the HABG also publishes monthly summaries and maps showing declarations by region, the IRM could not locate this information online at the time of writing. [108] Under this commitment, the new platform will add real-time statistics and information on historic asset declarations on a regular basis. [109]

The government intends to engage civil society during the final stages of the legislative reform process and development of the online platform. The government will hold one consultation with civil society once new legislation has been drafted. Likewise, the HABG states that “once the first version of the platform is completed, it will be presented at a session open to the public to take into account their observations and especially their needs in terms of statistics on the declaration of assets.” The representative added that there will be public awareness-raising and training sessions. [110] The IRM recommends that civil society and the public be continuously engaged throughout the reform.

However, reforms will not increase the range of individuals subject to asset declaration obligations, beyond taking into account institutions newly created by the 2016 Constitution. Nor does the commitment aim to broaden the type of assets to be disclosed, which currently concentrates on family-held assets and excludes interests that potentially conflict with their public office, such as beneficial ownership or positions in a company. ^[111] Additionally, the asset declarations themselves will remain confidential, with only aggregate statistics open to the general public. ^[112] Despite limitations, these commitments hold a substantial potential to increasing citizen access to asset declaration information. The government expects that the digital platform will “allow the HABG to effectively and sustainably resolve the problem of availability and access to statistics on asset declarations.” [113] In the medium-term, this reform could establish a foundation for civic monitoring of statistical information on asset declaration.

Opportunities, Challenges and Recommendations During Implementation

Civil society expressed optimism for this reform as the commitments' design explicitly takes previous obstacles into account. Additionally, the work of the Ministry of Good Governance, Capacity Building and the Fight Against Corruption also promises to advance asset transparency. [114] Civil society also noted that a national anticorruption plan (Commitment 3) is also vital to implementing an effective asset disclosure system. [115] The inclusion of various agencies—including the Office of the Prime Minister—in the action plan indicates high-level and broad engagement across government.

In regard to possible constraints, the scope of the legislative overhaul will determine whether the HABG and partners are able to implement the ambitious procedural and technical tools needed to increase asset transparency. Currently, the law does not provide for online submission of asset declarations. Therefore, legal reforms stipulated in Commitment 5 will dictate the scope and function of the platform. An HABG official acknowledged that online reporting is all the more necessary in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[116] Legal limitations on who can access asset declaration data also currently inhibits cross-sharing and verification of the data within government. A contact from the HABG stated that, “reforms must be introduced with the legislature to lift the confidentiality of the declared information and increase the powers of the HABG in terms of access to national metadata which can enable it to check the completeness and sincerity of asset declarations.” ^[117]

Altogether, these commitments could inspire other countries in the region, as offering public disaggregated asset data is a new practice in Francophone Africa. Only Niger has a law, which has not been implemented, that requires asset data to be public. [118] In turn, Côte d’Ivoire could follow best practices from other countries such as those put in place by Ukraine, Georgia and Croatia in recent years. Ukraine established an “electronic asset disclosure system for public officials replacing the previous ineffective paper-based system and allowed an unprecedented level of transparency of public officials’ assets." [119] Georgia introduced an official monitoring mechanism to verify the accuracy of public officials’ asset declarations. Through the electronic system, over 280 asset declarations were randomly selected for verification. [120] Croatia improved asset transparency by developing new tools allowing easier public access to information. Electronic submission of the financial reports of public officials also allowed the Conflict of Interest Commission and the public to better verify the accuracy of the submitted information. This, in turn, enabled greater transparency concerning the property of officials and increased their public accountability. [121]

In implementing this cluster, the IRM recommends that Côte d’Ivoire refer to Transparency International’s Recommendations on Asset and Interest Declarations for OGP Action Plans. [122] Specifically, the IRM recommends that Côte d’Ivoire consider taking the following steps:

• Consult civil society throughout the legislative review and drafting process as well as on the criteria and characteristics of the online platform for asset declarations management.

• Review legislation to strengthen the HABG's oversight capacity to enforce compliance and implement sanctions, verify submissions, initiate investigations, and evaluate public complaints. ^[123]

• Review legislation to allow for online asset declarations through the platform.

• Analyze the benefits and constraints to eventually eliminate confidentiality clauses and make asset declaration data publicly available in open-data format.

In the medium-term, expand the scope of asset declarations to include not only property and wealth but also private interests that might conflict with public office such as additional jobs or positions held, beneficial ownership of companies, and participation in civic or professional bodies.

Results Report

Commitment 4. Public Official and Civil Servant Asset Transparency

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● This commitment has been clustered as: Asset Transparency (Commitments 4 and 5 of the action plan)

● Potential for results: Substantial

● Completion: Substantial

● Did it open government? Marginal

Commitments 4 & 5: Asset Transparency Cluster [High Authority for Good Governance]

Context and Objectives:

Commitments 4 and 5 sought to strengthen the legal and technical framework in Côte d’Ivoire to increase government and public access to information on assets held by individuals in position of authority. Specifically, Commitment 5 promised to review the current legislation to ensure that asset declaration is mandatory for public officials and civil servants while in office. Commitment 4 aimed to gather all declarations in an online platform and publish disaggregated statistics. The government also intended to establish online channels for submission and management of declaration forms, but obstacles such as security concerns and limited internet penetration in Côte d’Ivoire have inhibited this aim. [7]

These commitments build on the previous action plan, which laid the groundwork for legislation on the declaration of assets and on the fight against corruption. The High Authority for Good Governance (HABG) has committed to drafting a decree to mandate public officials’ declaration of assets during their term of office or when their position in office changes. Moreover, progress has been made to develop an online platform to collect asset declarations. Neither the decree nor the platform was finalized by the end of the implementation period. However, reformers are committed to continuing efforts in the forthcoming action plan.

Did It Open Government? Marginal

Côte d’Ivoire further developed the technical and legal framework for public officials’ asset declaration. However, the full potential of this reform had not yet been achieved by the end of the implementation period, as the decree to mandate the declaration of asset information while in office was not yet adopted. As planned in the milestones for Commitment 4, the National Bureau of Technical Studies and Development (BNETD) developed an IT system to automate the declaration of assets. Focal points have been identified in the administrations (but are waiting to be officially designated by decree) to manage the system. The system was presented to the HABG Council at the end of September 2022 (after the implementation period). The deployment and training of the focal points is expected by the end of 2022 and disaggregated statistics are already available on the HABG website. [8] However, current legislation does not mandate the publication of assets. Moreover, there is no evidence of civil society participation in identifying the platform’s criteria for online reporting and publication of disaggregated data, or on the nature and content of the platform, as there is nothing official yet. It is not known, officially at this time, whether the texts will include online reporting or whether the public will have access to the portal. However, the implementation process has revealed some shortcomings of the asset declaration system, including the identification of the subjects’ names and the disaggregation of the data, including at the regional level.

As for Commitment 5, the HABG, with input from civil society, has prepared the draft texts to mandate asset declaration while in office. An HABG committee is currently validating the text, which will then be sent to the General Secretariat of Government for adoption. Although the texts have not yet been adopted, there has been significant progress in the content of the new decree. According to an HABG representative, the text, which was originally intended to specify the deadline for renewing the declaration of assets, has been extended to 10 other points. [9] These include, among other things, providing for online declaration, the accessibility of certain declarations to citizens (lifting of confidentiality), as requested by civil society, the number of declaration forms (two instead of three), and administrative sanctions against those who do not comply with the law. The interviewee stated that once the decree is adopted, it will strengthen the system of transparency in the management of public finances in Côte d’Ivoire. [10]

Looking Ahead:

Côte d’Ivoire intends to continue to pursue strengthening asset declarations and developing the national anticorruption strategy in the next action plan. [11] The IRM recommends that Côte d’Ivoire continue efforts to adopt the decree on the declaration of assets and developing a digital asset declarations platform. Ideally, this platform would go beyond a channel for public officials to upload information to also being a space where citizens can access information to hold public officials to account. Transparency International notes that a robust asset transparency platform includes functions to capture, cross-reference, and publish asset and interest declarations. A platform that enables civil society, the media, and the public to verify and monitor declarations and to alert the government of suspicious cases greatly increases its potential as an effective anticorruption tool. [12]