The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has indicated that it lacks the mandate to compel public officials to abide by the law on asset declaration, hence their failure to do so.

Commissioner of CHRAJ, Joseph Whittal explained that Chapter 24 of the 1992 Constitution which focuses on the Code of Conduct for public officers does not give enforcers the legal framework for sanctioning individuals who fail to declare their assets.

Speaking at the forum to mark the 2022 edition of the International Anti-Corruption Day, Mr Whittal said “we sometimes also feel helpless because when you have the law that does not critically tell you that, look, if somebody doesn’t declare before he assumes office, or he leaves office or every four years, you should give or mete out sanctions A, B, C and D, it becomes problematic.

“Indeed allegations of non-compliance with Chapter 24 of the Constitution, especially conflict of interest, and non declaration of assets and liabilities continue to dominate the media space. We all know what is happening. This year alone, the Commission received a record number of cases bordering on non-compliance and contravention of Chapter 24 of the Constitution. And we are currently investigating the same,” Mr. Whittal added.

Article 286 (1) of the 1992 Constitution clearly states that “all public office holders must submit a written declaration to the Auditor-General of all properties or assets possessed by them, as well as all liabilities payable to them directly or indirectly.

Per the law, the declaration of assets shall be made by the public officer “before taking office, at the end of every four years, and at the end of the term of his office and shall, in any event, be submitted not later than 6 months of the occurrence of any of the events specified in this subsection.”

The President, Vice-President, Speaker, Deputy Speakers of Parliament, ministers and deputy ministers of state, ambassadors, the Chief Justice and managers of public institutions are all to declare their assets.

However, Ghana’s asset declaration regime has somewhat become a toothless bulldog, and ineffective in the fight against corruption.

Although President Akufo-Addo after assuming office in 2017 directed all his appointees to declare their assets, reports by the Fourth Estate says not all the ministers complied with the directive.

Out of over 120 ministers, only 18, according to the Fourth Estate, adhered to the constitutional provision in Article 268 (1) of the 1992 Constitution and declared their assets.

Mr Whittal, however, is optimistic that the continuous disregard of asset declaration will be a thing of the past if the  Public Officers Bill (CoPO) is passed by Parliament.

He believes that the yet-to-be-passed bill will be a solution to this.

The Commissioner of CHRAJ said, “the current bill as it is, pending before Cabinet, our proposals for the type of sanctions that should be meted out to public officers depending on the stage in which the person failed to declare their asset has been captured.”

“We are hoping that the law will come into force so that we know exactly what to do.”

Source: The Independent Ghana