The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has signed an agreement with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in which the TSC has agreed to report teachers with questionable wealth to the anti-graft body for investigation and prosecution.
Apart from the EACC, the Commission will also report the teachers to other law enforcement agencies like the Attorney General or Director of Public Prosecutions. Also to be reported are teachers who fail to declare their wealth or provide falsified and even incomplete information.
Section 26 and 27 of the Public Officer Ethics Act (POEA) requires all public officers to declare their Income, Assets and Liabilities (IAL). This is done after every two years.
After elapse of the wealth declaration window, the teachers’ employer will submit the following information to the EACC:
- the number of public officers in the payroll as at 31st October of the declaration year;
- the total number of public officers who have submitted declarations within the prescribed time;
- the total number of public officers who have failed to submit declarations within the prescribed time;
- any action taken by the Commission in relation to any public officer who has failed to comply with the Wealth Declaration Act;
- number of declarations verified;
- findings in respect to the verification of declarations;
- any action taken pursuant to the verification of the declaration and
- any relevant remarks relating to the returns.
Related new; Wealth Declaration by TSC teachers; How to declare incomes, assets and liabilities.
By December 31, 2019 9,855 teachers had not filed their returns prompting the Commission to extend the declaration period.
“Majority of employees complied within the stipulated time. However, 9,855 teachers and 120 Secretariat Staff are yet to submit their declarations, which is a contravention of the law,” read the TSC memo; in part.
Those affected were given a grace period to file their wealth returns; between 8th – 14th January, 2020.
Any teacher in the TSC payroll and who fails to submit a declaration or gives false or misleading information is liable to a fine of Kshs 1,000,000 or be imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year or both; upon conviction.
THE WEALTH DECLARATION FORM.
The Declaration of Income, Assets & Liabilities form contains the following fields:
1). Name of the Public Officer.
The Officer is expected to give the Surname, First Name and/ or Other Names
2). Birth Information.
Here, the officer gives:
a). Date of Birth
b). Place of Birth
3). Marital Status:
The officer declares whether married or not.
4). Address i.e:
a). Postal Address
b). Physical Address
5). Employment Information
This includes:
a). Designation/ Job group.
b). Name of Employer
c). Nature of Employment(Permanent, Temporary, Contract, e.t.c.)
d). Employment Number/ T.S.C.
e). Work Station/ School/Institution
f). Sub County
6). Name of Spouse or Spouses;
The Employee lists the spouse (s) detailing the Surname, First Name and/ or Other Names
7). Name of Dependent children under the ages of 18 years
Required dependants’ details are: the Surname, First Name, and/ or Other Names.
8). Financial Statement;
The officer gives the:
a). Statement Date
Statement date is the first date of the month preceding the month in which the declaration is due.
b). Income (as of Statement Date); Which include: Income, including emoluments, for the declaration period.
d). Liabilities (as of Statement Date) that are: Loans etc.
Description Approximate Amount
9). Other Information that may be useful or relevant;
The officer is expected to provide any other information deemed relevant to the declaration.
10). Declaration by the Officer
‘I solemnly declare that the information I have given in this declaration is, to the best of my knowledge, true and complete.’
a). Signature of officer: i.e the Officer’s ID Number.
b). Date: Date when declaration is filed.
11). Witness details;
The witness can be a colleague at the place of work. The following details about the witness are required: Witness:
a). Name:
b). ID Number/ Passport: