Audit service to inspect assets declared by public office holders

As part of its bid to forestall abuse of office by public and civil servants, the Ghana Audit Service (GAS) is taking to another level the public office holders declaration, encapsulated under article 286, to inspect all assets declared by public office holders.

Unlike the former arrangement under which the public officer just submitted a completed declaration form in a sealed envelope, the GAS would now scrutinize the completed forms together with the public office holder concerned and then proceed to inspect the assets.

Mr. Mahama Alhassan, the Ashanti Regional Auditor who announced this in Kumasi, said the GAS would not only inspect the declared assets but also ascertain whether or not the officers in question truly owned them.

He was speaking after picking an award for Mr Daniel Yaw Domelevo, the Auditor-General, at the 2020 African Quality Awards held in Kumasi.

Mr. Domelevo was among 13 distinguished Ghanaians honoured this year by Micjoy Advertising, organizers of the African Quality Awards for their contributions to national development.

The Regional Auditor said persons who would be cited for non-compliance beginning from the 2019 financial audit, would be referred to the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), for the necessary action to be taken.

"Though Article 286 requires that certain categories of public office holders declare their assets before they take office and after every four years, only a few comply with this directive," he said.

This situation, he noted, would not be allowed to continue going forward, emphasizing that, the service would ensure strict compliance in the interest of accountability.

Mr. Alhassan therefore called on all office holders eligible to declare assets, to do the right thing to avoid sanctions.