"All State Officials Must Declare Assets"-Veep

The Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday December 9th said the presidency would ensure that state officials complied with the President's directive to declare their assets. "The President gave a directive for all his appointees to declare their assets before they take office - we will follow it up to ensure that all concerned public officials adhere to the directive," he said. The Vice President gave the assurance at a ceremony to inaugurate a working group on National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP) and launch of a Code of Conduct for Public Officers. The ceremony, organized by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), was to mark the Sixth International Anti-Corruption Day, which fell on December 9. The day was set aside by the United Nations to allow state anti-corruption institutions, civil society organizations and the general public to engage each other on how to make the anti-corruption campaign succeed. Vice President Mahama noted that, corruption was the most serious social disease that undermined economic growth, rule of law and democracy. He said in Ghana, at least four coup makers had justified their actions by accusing the governments they overthrew as corrupt. "It therefore behooves political leadership to lead by example in the fight against corruption as a way of safeguarding the integrity of our democracy," he said. The Vice President said it was on the account of showing political leadership that the NDC government endorsed the formation of the NACAP Working Group and introduction of the Code of Conduct for Public Officials by CHRAJ and its collaborators, including the office of the president.