No need for MPs to re-declare assets when appointed as ministers or to any public office - CHRAJ

Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has ruled that Members of Parliament (MPs) are not required to re-declare their assets when appointed as ministers, deputy speakers or to any other public office.

According to a report by thelawplatform.online on March 24, 2026, the decision was contained in a letter dated February 11, 2026, issued by the Ombudsman in a case brought by journalist Wilberforce Asare against Deputy Speaker of Parliament Bernard Ahiafor.

CHRAJ dismissed the petition as “frivolous and vexatious.”

According to the report, in the ruling, Commissioner Dr Joseph Whittal stated that it would be “too cumbersome to require an MP to keep declaring his assets anytime he is appointed as Minister of State, elected as a Deputy Speaker of Parliament or appointed into any other public office.”

Minority drags deputy Chief of Staff before OSP, CHRAJ, CID

He explained that such a requirement would inundate the Auditor-General with excessive Assets and Liabilities Declaration Forms.

As a result, the Commission excused Bernard Ahiafor for failing to declare his assets upon assuming the office of Chair of State Insurance Company PLC.

The constitutional provisions under Articles 286-288 mandate public officers listed in Article 286(5) to declare their assets.

Similarly, the Public Office Holders (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act, 1998 (Act 550), section 1(4), requires asset declarations by public office holders as outlined in section 3 of the Act.

AM/VPO

Meanwhile, learn of the story of the man behind the iconic Akwaaba frames in Ghana: