Declare Assets -Nduom to Flagbearers

NDUOM'S CAMPAIGN STRATEGIST BEN HAYFORD CALLS ON ALL ASPIRANTS TO DECLARE THEIR ASSETS!

Those who are vying to become the next president of Ghana must declare their assets and liabilities now to enhance transparency and accountability in government. The assets declaration would assist in checking looting of state assets.

“It is imperative and in the interests of all aspirants to abide by this advice and declare or Ghanaian people will not trust any politician” said Ben Hayford, Papa Kwesi Nduom’s campaign strategist in London this afternoon. Mr Those who fail to do so; the Ghanaian people would force them to. In Nigeria, President Musa Umaru Yar’Adua has set a precedent that goes beyond the norm. He invited the local and international press to Aso Rock and publicly declared his assets.

In Ghana Dr Kweku Osafo of CPP has done the same. Yar’Adua’s public declaration of “his assets” is commendable, however many commentators at the time accused Yar’Adua of playing on the gullibility of the Nigerian people by blatantly pursuing a populist agenda. However Ben said most regard Yar’Adua’s action as brave.

In the opinion of Chijioke Odom, head of campaigns at the Civil Liberties Organisation, the message Yar’Adua is sending across is “hold me responsible at the end (of my presidency) for any other things outside (the list of declared assets).

Ben Hayford said, “we must not be overwhelmed by the decision to declare assets publicly, but we must rather question the acquisition of such assets”. He explained that what is important about people declaring massive assets that they did not have just a couple of years back are what must be of interests to the anti-corruption and fraud team. Ben, who is coordinating Papa Kwesi Nduom’s campaign, said the anti-corruption team should be interested in the source and growth of the assets declared by public officials. Ben explains that in most cases, officials declare assets in excess of what they claimed they are worth before assuming office and that is what defeats the fight against corruption. Ben said despite the disputes about Yar’Adua’s tax liability on the number of assets he declared, and whether did in fact paid an inheritance tax on those properties he inherited from his family and famous brother, late Gen Shehu Yar’Adua. What Musa Umaru Yar’Adua did must send shock waves across the continent that “seeking office to steal from the poor is no longer an option”.

“Yar’Adua not only declared his own assets, but that of his wife and children” states Ben Hayford. Ben said President Musa Umaru Yar’Adua has set a very good by raising the standard of public morality, an example that Papa Kwesi Nduom is going to follow. Ben Hayford said the earlier “Public and Political Office Holders (Declaration of Assets and Eligibility) Law 1992 (P.N.D.C.L 280) which was repealed and replaced with ACT 550: The Public Office Holders Act, May 1998, “must be revisited” and vigorously enforce to ensure transparency and accountability across all levels of government. Ben explained that the act as it stands now does not bind public office holders to declare everything that they have.

Ben said the “Code of Conduct for Public Officers” states “A person who holds a public office shall submit to the Auditor-General a written declaration of all property or assets owned by, or liabilities owed by, him whether directly or indirectly. He explained that the law does not force public office holders to declare everything that they have, hence the incidence of corruption everywhere.