Ghana’s assets declaration to be more transparent – Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama says government is working to amend the constitution to make the process of assets declaration by public officers more transparent.

“The constitutional amendment we are moving is for those declared assets to be made available to the media through possible publication; and that’s being done to make it more transparent. But even in this current regime, any person who wants to challenge the assets declared by any public official is allowed to do so with a court order or a petition to CHRAJ to contest those declared assets; and the assets declared will be made available to that particular institution to investigate”.

The president however noted that any Ghanaian can demand to know the assets declared by public officials with a court order or a petition to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) under the current law.

This comes on the back of renewed calls on Ghanaian politicians to follow the example of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and declare their assets publicly.

Speaking at a joint press briefing at the Peduase Lodge during a one-day working visit by President Buhari that mainly discussed security in the sub-region, President Mahama clarified that Ghana’s current laws on asset declaration makes it possible for any Ghanaian to scrutinize the assets declared.“But once we amend the constitution, it will make it mandatory that anybody who goes to request the assets declaration forms from the Auditor General, would have to be given those assets declared and all that will make it more transparent” the President noted.