The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) and the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) have issued a collective appeal for the swift approval of the Conduct of Public Officers Bill, aimed at enhancing Ghana’s asset declaration system.
The proposed bill encompasses amendments to the current Asset Declaration Act, with the intention of establishing a comprehensive asset declaration framework.
In a shared press release conveyed to the Ghana News Agency, GII and GACC highlighted that the Conduct of Public Officers Bill has been under cabinet review for over a year without a definitive commitment to its presentation in parliament for deliberation and enactment.
“We are also calling for strengthening the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act, 2003 (Act 646) to provide for the reverse burden of proof in addressing illicit enrichment.”
GII and GACC emphasized that the current legal proceedings involving the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources have underscored the necessity for the government to enact legislation that enhances the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29) and other anti-corruption statutes to incorporate provisions for the presumption of guilt in addressing instances of illicit enrichment.
“We strongly urge the President to take decisive action in addressing alleged corruption cases and back his rhetoric on fighting corruption in Ghana by expelling the popular perception of interference in corruption investigations involving persons in his government,” the statement read.