Ghana Web: Ghana: Tuesday, August 01, 2017.
It’s open
knowledge to a section of the citizenry, including all Public Servants/ Public
Officers that a constitutional requirement in the 1992 Constitution, Article
286, Clause (1) or better still, Section (1) of the Public Office Holders
(Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act – 1998 (ACT 550) states that,
“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.
Public
Officers are, therefore, required to comply with (a)(b): before taking office;
at the end of every four years; and at the end of his/ her term of office but
not later than six months.
A whole
activation of Articles 187, and 188 gave birth to an Auditor-General and the
Audit Service of Ghana respectively; the Head who is currently in the person of
Mr. Daniel Yaw Domelevo. As part of his/ its constitutional mandate, the
anticipation is to audit public accounts (books, records, returns and other
relevant related documents) of all public institutions to promote transparency
and accountability in the country’s governance structure; to help deal with the
ever worsening corruption menace more effectively and efficiently. Should the
Audit Service be tasked some more?
So, who then
does the Constitution and or ACT 550 describes as a Public Servant/ Public
Officer? It “means a person who holds a public office,” as fixated in Section
(14) of ACT 550. This definition by far propels me to proffer a summary of the
qualification of persons described in Article 286, Clause (5); and or Section
(3) of ACT 550; thus, all elected and appointed Heads of all government or
public institutions, and all such equivalent offices/ ranks that Parliament may
propose.
The need
for such laws and act
On the 25th
of July, 2017, on the Ghana Morning Ghana television political talk show, the
NPP MP for Assin South constituency, Hon. Rev. John Ntim Fordjour subscribed to
this school of thought, “What we must note is that corruption can only be
fought according to law,” but perhaps forgot to establish that every act of
fighting is fighting—attempting to kill is murder—right? In that light, it’s
only rational to acknowledge that it takes considerable fierceness,
determination and or tactfulness to win a fight—in this instance 100%
enforcement of the requisite Laws and Acts will have to be applied to overcome
corruption.
So, the
urgent need for a near accurate, if not an entirely accurate formulation and
stringent implementation of Laws and Act regarding assets declaration, simply
has everything and everything else to do with the fight against graft. A menace
that appears to be done creeping into all circles of the Ghanaian ecosystem,
and is gradually being institutionalised in same circles—because it seemingly
appears to be slithering in at a pace not less than the frequency at which our
consciences are able to prompt us.
A general
case in point as to why the menace is near full institutionalisation: the
Auditor-General’s report in every given year, at least from the fourth
republic, points to acts of gross unpardonable financial malfeasance and
misappropriation on the part of most public institutions, especially the
District Assemblies. These stories generate and degenerates huge news both in
the traditional and online news media/ portals; yet, Heads of these public
institutions are left off the hook and nothing educational becomes of the
circumstance even after the annual Public Accounts Committee sittings—so, the
delinquencies recur but in greater sums like nobody’s business.
The aims
of such laws and act
The aims of
such Laws and Act maybe numerous and varying, and these could be owed to the
extent of needs vis-à-vis corruption that maybe identified in and by a given
country—in this instance, Ghana. Below are some aims identified from an OECD
paper, see report: OECD (2011), Asset Declarations for Public Officials: A Tool
to Prevent Corruption, OECD Publishing.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264095281-en:
(a) to
increase transparency and the trust of citizens in public administration, by
disclosing information about assets of politicians and civil servants that
shows they have nothing to hide;
(b) to
monitor wealth variations of individual politicians and civil servants, in
order to dissuade them from misconduct and protect them from false accusations,
and to help clarify the full scope of elicit enrichment or other illegal
activity by providing additional evidence.
A summary of
the two points above suggests, “it (such Laws and Act) upholds both the
public’s right to scrutinize a civil servant’s wealth and the civil servant’s
need to protect him or herself from erroneous accusations of corruption, both
in and out of office, through a constitutionally mandated process of annual
asset declaration,” by a Guyanese online news portal, Stabroek News—see report:
https://www.stabroeknews.com/2013/features/08/27/the-importance-of-asset-declarations-and-the-role-of-the-integrity-commission/
The bone
of contention: transparency vrs privacy
This is the
segment that appears to be breeding new arguments while igniting dead ones,
when indeed there are no concrete substances and grounds to be determined; and
I’m referring to campaigners of ‘Privacy’, i.e., some pols. Consider this: to
what degree do these pols (mostly those in government) want to be proffered
considerable privacy, when indeed they have everything, and I mean everything
else, including all accesses and plenary controls over the nation’s
resources—human and capital, as compared to the beggar by the roadside?
The above
statement is by no means an assumption that pols the world over, especially in
Ghana do not deserve a life; or better still, privacy—it is their moral right.
However, the extent of that moral right diminishes to a large magnitude once
one assumes a public office. I’m only stating the obvious—it is what it is.
You may wish
to consider this too: that a decent principle of transparency in all facets of
government only invents a civilized environment of probity and accountability
that instils public confidence in public servants in and or public institutions;
while that of privacy only fashions gross perceptions of varying units of graft
and misconducts owing to acts shrouded in secrecy, which may not even be exact.
A case in
point: the affable former Deputy Minister of Tertiary Education, and now NDC MP
for North Tongu (V/R), Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa had been accused severally
of owning fleets of fuel stations in Accra as well as tanker vehicles;
allegations he vehemently denied and even challenged the incoming Special
Prosecutor to probe—see report:
https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/There-is-nothing-wrong-if-I-own-filling-stations-Samuel-Okudzeto-Ablakwa-556458
This piece
“is principally an argument in support of the view that the social benefits of
transparency can be achieved without compromising our right to privacy,” by
Prof. G. Randolph Maye in Privacy and Transparency, and “it is logically and
practically possible to respect the right to privacy in an increasingly
transparent society,” ibid.
Food for
thought
Firstly, I
humbly concede I’m not a lawyer, indicating there maybe shortfalls in my line
of interpretations vis-à-vis the respective Laws and Act cited above—so I stand
corrected as I attempt making meaning of the existing circumstance.
An extensive
perusal of the respective Laws and Act cited above, especially and as well as
Article 287, Clause (1)(2)—COMPLAINTS OF CONTRAVENTION, all wholly related to
the subject matter suggests a break in the exercise. Article 287 necessitates a
full-blown investigation against a Public Officer(s) deemed to have contravened
the Laws or Act on the subject matter; but for an initial perception by any
individual, including ordinary citizens. This means, until anyone perceives
wrongdoing, and or an act of corruption on the part of a Public Officer, such
as that of the MP for North Tongu, and formerly petitions the Auditor-General,
there’s no continuous vetting process of the initial and closing asset
declarations of the alleged wrongdoer to ascertain a substance of wealth
variations and or exactness in the said allegation.
This, I
humbly suggest is almost entirely flawed since some acts of wrongdoing/
corruption are skillfully executed in a syndicate that may never and never come
to the fore or public domain. So yes, I meekly think the Audit Service of Ghana
should be tasked and equipped some more for a continuous vetting process,
though it might attract extra administrative costs.
Prof. G.
Randolph Maye argues once again, “that a properly administered transparency
can be the
source of greater tolerance of individual differences and restraint in the
treatment of wrong doers,” but in this instance, alleged wrongdoer(s) until
further notice. With that said, respectfully Mr. President, could you please
honour your campaign promise to declare your asserts publicly, as well as
instructing all Public Officers captured in Article 286, Clause (5) to do same?
Just like former and incumbent Presidents of Nigeria, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and
Muhammadu Buhari, respectively.
Also, the
circumstances surrounding the yet-to-be passed RTI (Right To Information) Bill
appears like a comic play for the theaters, but interesting enough, it doesn’t
even serve such purpose; the NDC, while in government few months ago played
tactics and refused to pass the Bill, even at the pressures from the then
minority, NPP. And now, NPP who is currently in government is similarly playing
such familiar tactics that might refuse the passage of the Bill. Hmm.
The Lord is
my witness: a good number of the youth are targeting politics now with
defective motives, thus to ‘steal’ and amass public wealth simply because of
the blatant ‘create, loot, and share’ stories they hear nearly every day that
is progressively getting more familiar sans inviting a sense of worry.
Dear Lord,
let it be that our national leaders and policy makers would at all times be
guided in their scheme of things, with thoughts suggesting that posterity is
taking notes.
Author: Nana
Kwaku-Jr (JR DOCKET)