Asset declaration is a multifunctional anti-corruption tool aimed at detecting acquisition of illegal and unjust enrich-ment and for recovery of same to the state and building broader integrity of public service.
The Public Office Holders Decla-ration of Assets and Disqualification ACT 1998 (Act 550) has been in existence for a very long time and has always been a feature of our consti-tutional and legal framework since the 1969 Constitution down to the 1992 Constitution. The existence of an assets declaration regime in our current constitutional framework is a welcoming feature.
Article 286 (1) of the 1992 Con-stitution states that: "A person who holds a public office mentioned in clause (5) of this Article shall submit to the Auditor-General a written declaration of all property or assets owned by or liabilities owed by, him whether directly or indirectly
(a) Within three months after the coming into force of this Constitu-tion or before taking office, as the case may be,
(b) At the end of every four years; and
(c) At the end of his term of office."
An asset declaration law is one of the most effective compliance mechanisms adopted by nations to detect illegal acquisition and unjust enrichment among public officials. The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has been empowered by the 1992 Constitution to conduct investigations in non-compliance with chapter 24 of the Constitu-tion including assets declaration and take action deemed appropri-ate. However, the Constitution has not stipulated specific sanctions that ought to be met-ed out to public officers who fail and refuse to declare their assets and liabilities.
CHRAJ also has the re-sponsibility to investigate all instances of alleged or sus-pected cases of corruption and the misappropriation of public monies and abuse of power by officials, as well as take stepsinclud-ing reports to the Attorney General and Auditor General resulting from investigations.
Failure to declare one's assets or liabilities without reasonable excuse or knowingly making false declara-tions is in contravention of Act 550 and has to be investigated unless the individual makes a written admission of his guilt.
Section 5 of the Act stipulates that 'any property or assetrequired under section 1 of the asset decla-ration Act to be declared by public officials after the initial declara-tion and which is not reasonably attributed to income, gifts, loan, inheritance or any other reason-able source shall be regarded as acquired illegally.
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On the 5th of October 2022, the Director of Anti-Corruption at CHRAJ, Mr. Stephen Azantilow-revealed that the Commission is in the process of investigating some public officers for failing to declare their assets.He added that the investigations extended to officials who failed to declare their assets in 2020.
Anti-Corruption campaigners called upon the Commission and the Auditor General to investi-gate and verify all assets declared by public officials. This call was made at a public forum in Accra organised by the Media Founda-tion for West Africa on the topic 'Declaration of assets by public office holders and the Fight against Corruption in Ghana'
The Writer is Senior Investigator,
Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) Head Office- Accra
