Asset declaration must be more transparent and verifiable

President John Dramani Mahama last week Wednesday performed a very important act when he presented his completed assets declaration forms to the Auditor-General as required by Article 286 of the 1992 Constitution and the Public Office Holders Declaration of Assets and Disqualifications Act 1998, Act 550.

After the presentation, the President asked his relevant appointees to declare their assets in accordance with the required law by March 31, 2025 or face possible dismissal.

The assets declaration documents provide details of the property of the President and other public office holders. 

The Daily Graphic lauds the President for openly submitting his assets declaration documents as we note that it was the first public submission of assets declaration documents by a President in the Fourth Republic.

The country’s asset declaration framework is designed to promote transparency and accountability among public officials.

Currently, one of the major challenges facing the asset declaration regime is the lack of transparency.

The declarations are not made public, and the Auditor-General does not have the power to verify the accuracy of the declarations.

This lack of transparency creates an environment conducive to corruption and abuse of office.

The critical gaps in transparency, verification and enforcement undermine the effectiveness of the current asset declaration regime and many have questioned it because to them it lacks public access to asset declarations, independent verification mechanisms, and strict penalties for non-compliance.

For example, how can the citizenry verify the contents of a sealed envelope that remain unknown, even to the Auditor-General?

This lack of disclosure undermines the purpose of asset declaration, which is to promote transparency and accountability.

The public's inability to access this information denies them the opportunity to identify potential ill-gotten wealth accumulated by public office holders.

A sealed envelope does not constitute a genuine declaration, as it is deficient in the formal and explicit statement necessary for verification.

Hence, it is our position that the asset declaration regime must be overhauled to strengthen it. To achieve this, some policy recommendations have been proposed.

They include the enhancement of transparency through public access to the declared assets.

This would mean the amendment to Act 550 to allow for controlled public access to asset declarations while balancing privacy concerns.

In this vein, we suggest the establishment of a publicly accessible database where summaries of declared assets can be reviewed.

Article 286(5) of the 1992 Constitution specifies the categories of public office holders required to declare their assets. However, it is unclear whether these individuals comply with this requirement.

The Constitution's stipulation that declarations must be made "before taking office" raises questions about the timing and enforcement of this provision.

To ensure that the asset declaration becomes truly enforceable, the aspect of the Constitution that stipulates that declarations must be made before taking office should be amended to make the regime more practicable and enforceable.

To strengthen the asset declaration regime, it is essential to make the declarations public. This can be achieved by amending the Public Office Holders (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act, 1998 (Act 550) to require public office holders to declare their assets and liabilities publicly.

The state can also consider implementing an Independent Verification body to cross-check declarations against tax records, bank statements and property registries which would go a long way to authenticate assets declared by public office holders required by law to declare their assets.

The country must also strengthen enforcement and sanctions by introducing automatic penalties for non-compliance, including fines, disqualification from public office and asset forfeiture for fraudulent declarations.

Without a doubt, the country can strengthen its commitment to good governance and promote transparency and accountability by addressing these gaps and implementing reforms to make the asset declaration regime effective, open, transparent and verifiable to foster public trust and prevent corruption.

The Daily Graphic takes the view that strengthening the asset declaration regime is essential for promoting good governance, transparency and accountability in public office.

By making the declarations public, establishing an independent body to monitor and enforce compliance, extending the regime to cover all public office holders, and linking the regime to the fight against corruption, Ghana can promote a culture of transparency and accountability in public office.