Declare your assets publicly: Mr president

The PNF is calling on the President to as a matter of urgency and as a show of his commitment to fighting corruption in Ghana, publicly declare all his assets in accordance with the ‘’declaration of assets and disqualification act 1998 (Act 550), which states inter alia : 1) A person who holds a public office mentioned in section 3 of this Act shall submit to the Auditor-General a written declaration of-

(a) all properties or assets owned by him; and

(b) all liabilities owed by him; whether directly or indirectly.

(2) The declaration shall be made on the form provided in Schedule II to this Act.

(3) It shall be the responsibility of the officers required to make the declaration under this Act to obtain the forms from the office of the Auditor-General.

(4) The declaration shall be made by the public officer-

(a) before taking office;

(b) at the end of every four years; and

(c) at the end of the term of his office and shall in any event be submitted not later than 6 months of the occurrence of any of the events specified in this subsection.

We are also demanding as part of good governance practice and the fight against corruption, the President should cause all his ministers, MP’s and all other high office holders required under the act to declare their assets without delay.

It is our hope that the President has been inspired by the anti-corruption stands taken by his Nigerian counterpart Mohamadu Buhari, who has publicly declared his assets to mark his 100 days in office.

Corruption and graft are in our view, the leading cause of Ghana’s underdevelopment as public officers take office with the main objective of lining their pocket.

Lastly, we support and will participate in any and all activities that will lead to all Presidential and Parliamentary candidates in the upcoming 2016 elections to declare their assets upon filing their bids to lead this country.

It is about time the fight against corruption started from the top. Any Presidential or Parliamentary candidate who fails to declare their assets before the elections should be named and shamed accordingly.

SIGNED

Richard Nyamah (Spokesperson)