The former Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo, has responded to President John Dramani Mahama's declaration of his assets to the current Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu.

Domelevo expressed the view that the president missed an opportunity to introduce significant changes in the process of asset declaration by state officials and appointees in the country.

Speaking on JoyNews on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, he suggested that the president should have instructed the Auditor-General to publicly disclose the assets he had declared, with the same approach extended to his appointees.

In his opinion, this would have been a significant step forward, emphasising how state officials in the past have declared their assets, yet these declarations were not explicitly made public. He believes this undermines the purpose of promoting accountability and transparency.

“The president missed the opportunity to change the paradigm by not directing the Attorney General to publicly disclose his declared assets, even though the law does not require it. If he had done that as well as ordered his appointees to also publish the assets they were going to declare, that would have taken us a notch higher than where we are,” he said.

His response comes in the wake of President John Dramani Mahama’s declaration of his assets on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, in accordance with Article 286 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

Article 286 mandates public office holders, including the president and his appointees, to complete and submit Assets Declaration Forms to the Auditor-General’s office.

Presenting his Assets Declaration Forms to the Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, on Tuesday, President Mahama pointed out that the declaration is essential to Ghana’s fight against corruption.

He indicated that in the past, he used to declare his assets in private but has chosen to do so publicly as an example to his appointees and other persons required to declare their assets.

“In times past, I would privately present these forms to the Auditor-General in fulfilment of my statutory obligation. I have taken the step of presenting these forms publicly as a way of injecting some openness and transparency into the process of asset declaration.

“I have maintained that while it is all well and good to punish corruption, a more effective way of addressing the canker is preventing it from occurring in the first place,” he said.

MAG/EK

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