A former Presidential Staffer and Local Government Coordinator, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has described Ghana’s asset declaration regime as ineffective and outdated, calling for the law to either be scrapped or thoroughly reformed.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on May 10, 2025, Aboagye argued that the current process serves no real purpose in promoting transparency or accountability.

“My view on asset declaration has always been that we should stop wasting our time discussing it. It should just be scrapped, or we should rather spend the time advocating for the reform, because it’s a complete waste of time,” he indicated.

Aboagye added that he has personally declared his assets twice but described the exercise as flawed and meaningless.

“As I sit here, I have declared my assets twice, and so what? What I put in there, nobody knows,” he said, questioning the effectiveness of a system that lacks verification or public scrutiny.

He criticised the praise directed at President John Dramani Mahama for recently publishing his asset declaration, insisting that Akufo-Addo also enforced the requirement but did so without public attention.

“What President John Mahama has done is nothing new; Akufo-Addo enforced it. He just didn’t put cameras on what he was doing,” he stated.

According to Aboagye, during Akufo-Addo’s first term, he coordinated the asset declarations of all 261 Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), collecting proof of compliance.

“I, for instance, had to engage each of the 261 MMDCEs. Not just ask whether they’ve done it, but collect the receipts as proof,” he added.

Despite these efforts, Dennis Miracles Aboagye said the process is broken, citing the asset declaration forms as outdated and difficult to complete.

“The current form is outmoded, it is of no use and a complete waste of time. The first time I picked the form, I kept it on my desk for three weeks. The form is overly complex. It’s either you are under-declaring or you are over-declaring,” he said.

He further criticised the lack of transparency in the submission process.

“I don’t know why something that you ask me to do, I do it, I put it in an envelope, I take it to somebody who doesn’t open it, drops it into a never-opened box. Until some legal matter comes up and you are putting a gun to my head, it’s a waste of my time, honestly speaking”, he stressed.

Aboagye further added that even when declarations are made, there is no mechanism to track or update changes.

“If I declare it in January 2025, and I dispose of one of the assets I have declared in September 2025, how do I update it? Who is receiving that update?” he questioned.

MRA/AE

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