Seasoned journalist Kwesi Pratt Jnr has strongly criticized Ghana’s asset declaration regime, calling it fundamentally flawed and ineffective in promoting transparency and accountability in public office.
Speaking on Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV, monitored by MyNewsGh, Pratt said: “It’s a constitutional injunction on all public office holders to declare their assets, but the regime is problematic.
“You write down your assets, file it with the Audit Service, and that’s it. Nobody verifies anything. It’s kept there until a court orders it to be opened. That’s a huge problem.”
He emphasized that merely submitting a declaration without auditing its contents renders the exercise meaningless. “Many have argued—and I agree—that there must be an audit to ensure that the things listed as assets truly exist and that there’s no hanky-panky going on,” he added.
Kwesi Pratt also touched on the controversial exclusion of spouses from the asset declaration process.
“Spouses are not required to declare their assets, and people have questioned that. In 1992, the NPP promised to change that if they won. It didn’t happen. In 2000, former President Mills also promised to change it. It hasn’t happened either,” he recalled.
On recent developments, Pratt acknowledged President Mahama’s decision to punish appointees who failed to declare their assets by March 31st, 2025.
“This is the first time in our history that a president has decided to punish his appointees for not declaring their assets. That is commendable,” he said.
However, Pratt pointed out that constitutionally, such matters fall under the jurisdiction of CHRAJ. “The power to act is not vested in the president. It’s CHRAJ that is clothed with the constitutional authority to deal with these matters,” he stated.
Despite this, he conceded that the president’s move doesn’t violate any laws. “There’s no law that prohibits the president from taking administrative action against appointees who violate the constitution,” he concluded.
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