President John Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama officially declared his assets yesterday to the Auditor-General, marking a significant step in ensuring public accountability and fighting corruption.
The declaration, which was made public at the Jubilee House, is in fulfilment of the Declaration of Assets and Disqualification Act 1998, (Act 550), which mandates the President and public office holders to provide detailed accounts of their financial holdings, physical properties, and other assets.
It is also in line with Article 286 of the 1992 Constitution, which mandates public officials to declare their assets upon assumption of office.
The President has also warned all his appointees to declare their assets, stating that a failure to do so by the end of the first quarter of 2025, will result in severe sanctions, including possible removal from office.
President Mahama, in a brief remark after the presentation of documents, reiterated the importance of publicly declaring his assets, a move which highlights the importance of transparency in rebuilding public trust.
He said, “In times past, I would privately present these forms to the Auditor-General in fulfilment of my statutory obligation. I have taken the step of presenting these forms publicly as a way of injecting some openness and transparency into the process of asset declaration.”
The President maintained that while it is all well and good to punish corruption, a more effective way of addressing the canker is preventing it from occurring in the first place.
“I honestly believe that if properly created and enforced, the asset declaration can become a sustainable tool for tackling corruption,” he added.
Warning
On the warning to his appointees to fulfil the constitutional requirement by end of first quarter of the year, the President said he has taken this step to send an unmistakable signal to all public office holders, especially those that he have appointed that, he take the declaration of assets very seriously and expect full compliance from them.
“I have asked the Chief of Staff to send word to all appointees to ensure that they declare their assets by the end of the first quarter of this year, that is by 31st March 2025. I wish to stress that any appointee failing to meet the deadline will face severe sanctions, not excluding removal from office,” he added.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak