President Mahama Punishes Appointees Who Haven't Declared Their Assets, Threatens to Sack Them

• President John Dramani Mahama has sanctioned government appointees who have failed to declare their assets
• The President, via an X post by Felix Kwakye Ofosu, threatened to dismiss them if they failed to follow his directive
• Netizens who saw the post expressed mixed reactions, with some commending the President and others critical

President John Dramani Mahama has punished some of his appointees who have not declared their assets.

In an X post, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the Minister of Government Communication, Felix Kwakye Ofosu noted that the said appointees would not receive salaries for a period.

This comes after The Fourth Estate's investigations, which claimed that over 55 government appointments had not declared their assets by the March 31 deadline.

What does Ghana's Asset Declaration law say?

Ghana's asset declaration laws are part of efforts to promote transparency, accountability, and anti-corruption among public officials.

This regime is governed primarily by Article 286 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, Public Office Holders (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act, 1998 (Act 550).

Per Article 286(5), the following are required to declare their assets: The President and Vice President, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, Members of Parliament (MPs), Judges and Magistrates, public office holders such as CEOs of state institutions, and district chief executives, etc.

President Mahama earlier declared his assets and urged other appointees to do the same or face sanctions. But it seems his warning did not go down well with everyone who joined his cabinet.

Office holders who have defaulted on directive

As of April 17, it appeared that Deputy Agriculture Minister, John Dumelo and other appointees allegedly defaulted on President Mahama’s directive.

Presidential Adviser on the Economy Seth Terkper, Director of Operations at the Presidency Nathan Kofi Boakye, and Special Envoy to the Alliance of Sahelian States Larry Gbevlo-Lartey were all claimed to have defaulted on the directive.

Other prominent names alleged to have defaulted included Charles Kipo (the Director of Operations at the Presidency), Nana Yaa Jantuah (the Director of the National Investigations Bureau), Ernest Brogya Gyamfi (Deputy Minister of Defence), Alhassan Suhuyini (Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways), Gizella Tetteh-Agbotui (Deputy Minister of Works and Housing), and John Dumelo (Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture).

Some of the aforementioned persons, including Brogya Genfi and John Dumelo, later denied claims that they had not declared their assets.

Felix Ofusu's post about sanctions for appointees who defaulted on the directive is included below:

Mahama gets praised after sanctioning defaulters

President Mahama earned the praise of many Ghanaians after Felix Kwakye Ofosu announced the sanctions against the asset declaration defaulters.

@General_K88 wrote:

"If dey fail to do on new dead line. Logic dey sack dema self be that."

@De_GodKing wrote:

"What are they attempting to hide by failing to declare their asset? 1. Are they planning to steal and live above their means ? 2. Or they are not disciplined and therefore should not hold leadership position ? Publish their names. Indiscipline should not be tolerated."

@_nursingguy wrote:

"Things like this is what’ll cause some of the people to ask Mahama to run for a third term, but he should ignore such calls. Serve your time well and leave behind a good legacy. Interesting days ahead indeed!"

@KwasiTerminator wrote:

"Eeiii Mahama 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Mahama will make Akufo Addo look like a midget in governance oo.. eeiii."

@madison_ben5 wrote:

"Great leader who won’t support abuse by his appointees. Those who don’t act on the Presidents orders are simply the ones who think they can do anything and go away with it. Tell Mr. President we love him for his firm leadership."

President declares luxury SUVs received as gifts

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that President John Mahama declared two vehicles he received as gifts and donated them to the state.

On Monday, May 5, 2025, he handed over the vehicles to the state after unveiling a code of conduct for himself and his appointees.

Communications Minister Ofosu presented the donated cars to Julius Debrah and Valerie Sawyer on behalf of the Ghanaian state.

Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh