António Cotrim / Lusa
The proposal defines that politicians will have to authorize the transparency entity to verify the data of the statements and know the identity of those who make the consultations.
In the aftermath of the controversy surrounding former Secretary of State Hernani Dias-who resigned after the omission of his share was revealed in two companies in the real estate and raised doubts about a conflict of interest due to the new soil law-the PSD presented a proposal for change to legislation which regulates the income and heritage declaration of politicians and high public office.
The party now wants to give politicians more autonomy in the management and confirmation of their assets, by allowing them authorize or refuse That the entity for Transparency (EPT) can consult databases such as the Tax Authority, Banco de Portugal or Social Security, to verify the information in their income statements.
According to the new proposal, politicians can refuse access to the data, with the EPT of substantiate the request To these entities are suspected of some incongruity in the declared heritage. Social democrats also want politicians to be informed about the identity of those who have consulted any element of their statement, the.
If there is any wrong or missing information in the statements, politicians are no longer notified to correct it, and the entity is responsible for the changes. This change is being criticized, as it can lead to politicians purposely not to declare everything, and may then claim that the failure was from EPT.
Deputy Hugo Carneiro, from the PSD, argued that this process reduces bureaucracy and Facilitates the declarationsince the state already has most of the necessary information, such as property data and bank accounts. Carneiro refuses that there is “any detention” of the political office holder.
However, the proposal generated criticism from transparency experts. “We want to protect the politician more? What sign are we giving? ”Asks Dublin City University researcher Susana Susana, who also points out the danger of this change discouraging complaints to the prosecutor. “Communication to the politician makes the complainant exposed. It makes no sense, ”he criticizes.
The PSD proposal is expected to come into force in January, but still depends on an interconnection between the various public databases, an issue that will be resolved under the Public Administration Modernization Plan.
