By Dennis Peprah
Abesim (Bono), Aug. 11, GNA – The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) has renewed calls for the amendment of the country’s Asset Declaration Law to ensure its effective enforcement and strengthen accountability in public office.
Ghana’s asset declaration regime is governed by Article 286 of the 1992 Constitution and the Public Office Holders (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act, 1998 (Act 550), which requires specified public office holders to declare their assets and liabilities to the Auditor-General.
Describing the law as “extremely weak”, Ms Pamela Laourou, Assistant Communications Officer of the GACC, said the legislation needed urgent amendment to incorporate asset verification and publication of declared assets.
She made the call during a day’s follow-up stakeholders’ training on corruption organised by the GACC at Abesim, near Sunyani, in the Bono Region.
The workshop formed part of the implementation of the “Strengthening Accountability, Rule of Law and Institutional Responsiveness in Ghana” (SARIS) project.
Funded by the European Union (EU), the project seeks to strengthen the watchdog role of civil society organisations and support advocacy for reforms aimed at improving Ghana’s integrity systems.
The Centre for Democratic Development-Ghana (CDD-Ghana), in collaboration with the GACC and Transparency International Ghana (TI Ghana), is leading the advocacy initiative.
Ms Laourou said public office holders were required by law to declare their assets, stressing that public officials must be accountable to the people they serve.
“If you want to become a public official then your issue is our issue and the law compels you to declare your asset,” she stated
However, she expressed concern that Act 550 contained several loopholes that undermined its effectiveness and required amendment.
Ms Laourou called on the public to support advocacy efforts aimed at reforming the law and protecting the public purse.
She took participants, including chiefs, queen mothers, civil society representatives, assembly members, clergy and faith-based organisation leaders, through various forms of corruption, including nepotism, favouritism and conflict of interest.
She advised citizens to resist, reject, and report corrupt practices to the appropriate institutions.
Ms Laourou, however, emphasised the need for evidence-based reporting of corruption.
“We have to gather some evidence to support our reporting,” she said, urging members of the public to report suspected cases of corruption through confidential channels.
During an open forum, Mr Raphael Ahenu, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Media Foundation (GloMeF), an anti-corruption and media advocacy non-governmental organisation, called for a change in the attitudes of Ghanaians towards corruption.
Other stakeholders, including representatives of anti-corruption agencies, also spoke against the practice of giving and accepting gifts that could potentially influence public officials in the discharge of their duties and decision-making.
GNA
Edited by Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter: Dennis Peprah
Email: [email protected],gh