Public Office-holders must declare assets to show honesty

Accra, June 4, GNA - Dr Ebenezer A. Ayerebi-Acquah, a former member of the Erstwhile National Commission for Democracy, on Friday, urged public office holders to willingly declare their assets in line with the princip les of the "June 4 Uprising".

He said the values of Probity, Accountability and Integrity and Transparency that June 4 espoused in 1979 were still relevant and it was important for Ghanaians to entrench themselves in those values in our efforts towards national development today.

Therefore, those who voluntarily offered to serve the nation in leadership positions must demonstrate their honesty, integrity and transparency through public declaration of their assets. Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the relevance of "June 4", Dr Ayerebi-Acquah, explained that if both past and

serving public office holders, subjected themselves to public accountabil ity and integrity, they would be demonstrating the philosophy of leadership b y example.

Justifying the relevance of "June 4", Dr Ayerebi-Acquah said it was a historic event of national importance but its observance should be limite d to somber reflection on the principles it stood for and the mourning of those, who lost their lives in the line of duty or as victims for Ghana t o become a better place.

He said the activities marking the day must not show joyous celebrations or actions that would hurt the sensibilities of the victims or their relatives, but show appreciation to them and a national commitment to sacrifice and patriotism. Dr Ayerebi-Acquah said: "the June 4 Uprising was a painful, and traumatic event but absolutely and absolutely necessary event to shock us

into the realization that something was fundamentally wrong with our tren d of national development.

"However, we must be mindful in our commemoration of the day that it is contrary to our culture to malign the dead or have a celebration that wou ld offend our sensibilities."

The Former Deputy Minister for Defence said "June 4" was an exceptional coup d'=E9tat to bring the nation back on course after the overthrow of Dr Kwame Nkrumah because Ghanaians had deviated from the national objectives of upholding patriotism, being hardworking and meeting our civic responsibilities as ascribed in our motto of Freedom and Justice.

"The interpretation the educated ones gave to Freedom was limited to t he enjoyment of democratic ideals such as Freedom of Association, Expression , Movement, Assembly etc, without the corresponding responsibilities to selflessly, work hard and sacrifice for the common good," he said. Building of the aspirations of the French Revolution, he said, "June 4" came as an event to rally the nation to focus on building a nation based on equity, justice, fairness and peace. "Without equality and peace, there cannot be justice and without just ice there cannot be national security and freedom," he said.

Dr Ayerebi-Acquah said Ghana at 53, is still a relatively young country, as compared to democracies like France and the United Kingdom an d, therefore, has the opportunity to re-orient citizens with the core and requisite values for a solid democratic and developed nation. Dr Ayerebi-Acquah said: "Freedom if it critically interrogated means

people must do their work with commitment, protect national assets and render selfless services to the nation.

"Ghanaians must be educated to accept their civic and patriotic responsibilities and then Ghana would be truly and truly independent, self-reliant, great and strong as enshrined in our national anthem." The 31st Anniversary of the "June 4" Uprising is being commemorated in Tamale in the Northern Region. Wreaths were laid at the Flags Staff Square in Accra. 04 June 10