The Institute of Economic Affairs, IEA, says Ghana’s Constitution must provide stronger safeguards to help detect and address unexplained wealth among public officials.
The Institute is backing recommendations from the Constitution Review Committee that seek to expand the country’s asset declaration framework and give authorities stronger tools to investigate significant increases in the wealth of public office holders.
Former Chief Justice and IEA Fellow, Sophia Akuffo, made the submission at a press conference on Wednesday, September 23.
She said the committee, chaired by Professor H. Kwesi Prempeh, had proposed amendments to Article 286 to strengthen the enforcement of asset declaration requirements.
Among the proposals are lifestyle and wealth audits, stricter timelines for declaring assets and a reverse burden of proof in cases involving unexplained increases in wealth.
Prof. Akuffo said although government has indicated that it intends to deal with the matter through legislation, the IEA believes some of the recommendations should be entrenched constitutionally.
She argued that relying only on general constitutional provisions would not provide sufficient mechanisms to identify and deal with possible illicit enrichment by public officials and their families.
But the former Chief Justice cautioned that stronger enforcement powers must come with adequate safeguards.
She said any new framework should respect due process, establish clear evidentiary requirements and guard against the misuse of the system.
Prof. Akuffo said the goal should be to ensure that public officials can account for substantial and unexplained changes in their wealth without compromising their legitimate rights.
Her comments come as government begins the process of considering recommendations from the constitutional review exercise.
The 11-member Constitution Review Implementation Committee, chaired by Presidential Legal Counsel and former Attorney-General Marietta Brew, is reviewing government’s position on the proposals and is expected to develop a framework for implementing those that are approved.
