Public servants earning over ¢3,700 to declare their assets

• Posted on February 26, 2018February 26, 2018
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Public Servants who earn more than ¢3,727 in salaries will be required to declare his assets, the Auditor-General, Daniel Domelevo has indicated.

The Auditor-General who was speaking at the 2018 Accountability Week celebrations said, the move is to check ill-gotten wealth of some public servants.

He said public office holders have a duty to comply with the law, explaining that the job of auditors is to ensure that the public purse is not abused.

Asset declaration is often associated with political appointees but Domelevo, seen as a stickler for the law, says it includes all public officers as defined by the Act 550. 

He explained that an officer in any public office or public institution either than the Armed Forces whose salary is equal to or higher than the salary of a Director of the Civil Service, is required to declare his or her liabilities or assets.

This he said means any civil servant whose salary is more than ¢3,727 per month, is required to declare their assets.

“We are very much aware that for we who check others, need to check ourselves,” he said.

Daniel Domelevo shared the view that too many public servants are overpaid.

The Auditor-General reminded his officers to refrain from demanding or accepting bribes in the performance of their duties. He said auditors who fail to report infractions and irregularities will be made to face punitive actions as stated in Section 33 of Act 584.

He also warned officials of MMDAs who try to induce his officers with bribes to be ready to face the law when caught.

He said Ghana’s poor performance in the 2017 Global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) which saw the country drop to its lowest since 2012, calls for renewed efforts in combating corruption.

-JFM