The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has dismissed Ghana’s current asset declaration regime as ineffective in the fight against corruption.

According to him, the system lacks transparency and accountability.

Speaking on the matter in an interview with YouTube-based Ambassador TV on August 1, 2026, he said asset declaration could serve as a powerful anti-corruption tool if properly implemented, but the way it is currently practised in Ghana renders it meaningless.

“On the issue of asset declaration, there is a way it can be used as a tool for fighting corruption. However, the way it is currently practised in Ghana does not achieve that purpose. Instead, it wastes resources and has little impact,” Asiedu Nketiah stated.

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He explained that public officials are required to list their properties and submit them to the Auditor-General, but the documents are sealed and remain unopened unless a court demands them during a legal dispute.

“Public officials are asked to list the number of properties they own, but once submitted, the documents are sealed and never opened unless a court demands them. This means that only the individual knows what was declared, while the country has no way of verifying whether all assets were included,” he said.

Asiedu Nketiah further stressed that the lack of publication undermines the entire process, adding that since entering politics, his own declarations have never been scrutinised.

“If asset declarations are not published, then the exercise achieves nothing. The Auditor-General, occupied with other responsibilities, simply stores the sealed documents until a court case requires them to be opened,” he added.

“Since I entered politics, no one has ever discussed the properties I declared, because they remain sealed and untouched,” he remarked.

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Asiedu Nketiah insisted that the current regime cannot be relied upon as a credible means of fighting corruption, calling for reforms that would make asset declaration transparent and enforceable.

“For this reason, the current asset declaration regime cannot be relied upon as an effective means of fighting corruption,” he emphasised.

Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama publicly declared his assets on February 18, 2025, in line with Ghana’s Constitution and Act 550, and instructed all ministers and appointees to do the same by March 31, 2025.

He emphasised transparency, noting that asset declaration should not be shrouded in secrecy but serve as a preventive tool against corruption.

VKB/BAI

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