“Eligible public officers, who reside outside Accra, may submit their completed forms to the nearest regional office of the Audit Service,” a statement signed by Joseph K Ghunney, Director of Public Affairs at the Audit Service said.

[contextly_sidebar id=”bfXaIvplh9vyRKu5guem6nWFdACxSCgB”]The statement explained that, in accordance to Article 286 (1): “a person who holds public office shall submit to the Auditor-General a written declaration of all property or assets owned by, or liabilities owed by him/her whether directly or indirectly.

“Within three months after the coming into force of this Constitution or before taking office, as the case may be, at the end of every four years; and at the end of his term of office”.

According to the statement, the Audit Service has initiated the process of receiving for safe keeping completed Assets Declaration Forms of eligible public office holders.

Article 286 clause 5 identifies the public office holders who are mandated to declare their assets as; the President of the Republic, the Vice-President of the Republic, the Speaker of Parliament and the Deputy Speaker.

Others are; Members of Parliament, Minister of State or Deputy Minister, Chief Justice, Justice of the Superior Court, Chairman of a Regional Tribunal, and the Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice and Deputies.

The rest are all Judicial Officers, Ambassador or High Commissioner, Secretary of the Cabinet, Head of Ministry or Government Department or equivalent office in the Civil Service.

The list also includes the Chairman, Managing Director, General Manager and Departmental Head of a Public Corporation or company in which the State has a controlling interest; and such officers in the public service and any other public institutions as Parliament may prescribe.

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Source: GNA

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The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) criticized the move, saying it is a cover up for state sponsored thuggery.

[contextly_sidebar id=”H7uxi6vRAVymHO6uaU61sP7n8EQFIfgS”]But speaking in an interview with Citi News, Eugene Arhin said the directive conforms to the laws of Ghana.

“I think it is not legally prudent , or even ethically prudent for any member of the previous administration to hoard any property in their possession so I think the directive from the Chief of Staff is in the right direction .”

He further clarified that, government would “get hold of all public assets which are in possession of some other individuals who were within the previous government.”

He was however quick to emphasize the need for those in charge of the retrieval not to use the exercise as an opportunity to “witch-hunt other government officials, who rightly and rightfully possess properties which of course may belong to themselves.”

Government indicated on Friday that, it had set up a task-force which will focus on retrieving state assets believed to be held by individuals.

The decision followed the seizure of five cars belonging to the National Organiser of the NDC, Kofi Adams, by men believed to be National Security personnel.

But the NDC on Saturday subsequently warned that the task-force could compromise peace and stability .

“The activities of these NPP hoodlums operating under the name ‘invisible Forces’ with tacit approval from elements within the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service, have gone on for several weeks without any noticeable effort by government to take action against them.”

“Instead of condemnation and firm action to end this spate of lawlessness, these criminal elements, loyal to President Akufo-Addo, have received approbation from leading figures within the NPP who have sought to justify their conduct amidst threats to seize more private properties,” a statement issued by the NDC said.

The NDC said it is willing to ensure the recovery of any national assets; but will not tolerate any attacks on its members.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

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The statement announcing the ‘Task-force on Retrieval of State Assets’, however, did not make direct reference to officials of the immediate past National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration.

The statement signed by the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, said, “ The Office of the Chief of Staff is informed of various state assets including landed properties and vehicles, which are yet to be handed over to the government by individuals, contrary to the law.”

“Consequently, government has set up a team comprising officials from the following departments to coordinate the location and retrieval of all such assets in the national interest.”

The agencies include the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Revenue Authority (Customs Division) the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), and the office of the President.

The statement, however, urged persons in possession of such national assets to take immediate steps to return them accordingly.

“Persons with state properties unlawfully in their possession should endeavor to contact the task-force and make arrangements to surrender same with immediate effect.”

It added that “The general public is also hereby encouraged to provide information on any properties believed to be within the above-mentioned category to the task-force via ‘Task-force on Retrieval of State Assets, the CID Headquarters, Accra, on 0299012238.

Soldiers seized my 5 cars – Kofi Adams

This statement comes barely two days after National Organiser of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kofi Adams, alleged that about sixteen men believed to be military personnel, and others from the National Security, seized five vehicles from his home.

Although the government had denied authorizing the seizure, the cars were later released to Mr. Adams supposedly with the help of the National Security Minister, Albert Kan Dapaah.

It doesn’t matter who bought my 5 cars – Kofi Adams 

However, Mr. Kofi Adams could not state emphatically if he personally purchased the five cars.

There are unconfirmed reports that some of the previous government’s officials, may have misappropriated some state assets.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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