The Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoah-Asiedu, has reaffirmed his office’s commitment to scrutinizing the assets declarations submitted by President John Dramani Mahama and government appointees.

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This, he said, is to ensure transparency and accountability in public service.

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His assurance follows Mahama’s formal submission of his assets declaration at the Jubilee House on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, in line with the Public Office Holders (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act. The declaration provides details of Mahama’s financial assets, properties, and other holdings.

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During the submission, Mahama underscored the significance of transparency in fostering public trust. He warned that any government official who fails to declare their assets by the end of the first quarter of 2025 would face strict sanctions, including possible dismissal from office.

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In response, Akuamoah-Asiedu outlined the review process his office would undertake to verify the accuracy and completeness of the submissions.

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“We receive your form just like His Excellency has done… we are going to open it to see exactly what entries you have made,” he stated.

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Explaining the verification process, he indicated that the focus would be on ensuring that officials do not leave out critical details such as bank balances and asset values.

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“When we are looking at it, what we are looking at is whether you have not left any blank spaces, whether you have not left your bank balances. Some may list all the banks that they have, but there’ll be no balances at it, and we will call you to come and redo it,” he noted.

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He also pointed out the difficulty in confirming the accuracy of certain declarations, particularly regarding the number of bank accounts or properties listed by officials.

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“If you say you have 10 bank accounts and you bring it to us, how are we to be sure that indeed it is only 10 bank accounts that you have? If you say you have two buildings, what can we do to ensure that it is exactly the two buildings that you have?” he questioned.

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Akuamoah-Asiedu further advocated for making assets declarations public at both the beginning and end of officials’ tenure to enhance transparency.

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“Reviewing the constitution as His Excellency has said, I think it’s a very, very important issue that we have to take seriously, and we also support the publishing.

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“If you submit your assets and declaration forms, you should be able to publish it freely. And the time that you are leaving office too, we’ll publish it to see the changes that have happened ever since you started,” he stated.

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