Legal practitioner, Martin Luther Kpebu, has defended the role of anti-graft institutions in Ghana, arguing that they are necessary for curbing corruption in the country.
He believes that instead of collapsing institutions and absorbing them into one, the responsibilities should rather be apportioned to make the work more efficient.
Speaking as a panelist on Media General’s Dialogue on “Lifestyle Audits: Enhancing Public Service Ethics” on Monday, November 24, 2025, the renowned lawyer indicated that collapsing some institutions will not be the solution, but rather applying division of labour to make the corruption fight more effective.
“I don’t believe in this collapse of institutions,” he stated.
According to him, while the Asset Declaration Law for instances currently checks the lifestyle audit of public office holders, an institution like CHRAJ ensures that that aspect of the law is fulfilled.
“The asset declaration law is a tool that helps the lifestyle audit. Currently, CHRAJ does most of our lifestyle audit, that’s the rudimentary one.”
Kpebu argued that “we can’t put all the institutions under one. I believe in division of labour, if it comes to supervision and efficiency.”
In his explanation, he cited how a work with 2,000 workers would be properly supervised by four people, rather than one.
“If, let’s say there are 2,000 workers and you have one overall head, using the division of labour, that institution, all other things being equal, will be less efficient than if you divided it into at least four, where they have four heads, so that each head is supervising 500. I believe that a head who is supervising 500 workers will be more efficient than a head supervising 2,000. So I don’t believe that we should necessarily collapse institutions,” he shared.
The calls for lifestyle audits have become rife in Ghana, following corruption and corruption-related cases that have characterised public office in the country over the years. This has created the need to have a law that will guide the enforcement in that regard.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, in June 2025, announced that Parliament was set to begin drafting a legislation to support lifestyle audits for individuals suspected of amassing unexplained wealth in the country.
The law will help Ghana’s fight against corruption, where persons who acquire wealth suspected to be outside their income stream would be put before the law to proof the authenticity of their wealth.
The Speaker, addressing the House on Monday, June 9, 2025, he noted that the proposed bill would empower state institutions to investigate the lifestyles of public officials, politically exposed persons, and private individuals whose standard of living does not correlate with their known sources of income.
“I am, to this end, receiving a lot of input to process legislation on lifestyle audits,” Mr. Bagbin stated. “I’m happy to hear OSP also included it in their statement. We will legislate and stop this impunity of people flaunting ill-gotten wealth in the face of poor Ghanaians.”
He shared how the proposal has gained traction among senior members of government and civil society, including Vice President Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, who also recently expressed support for such reforms.
Speaker Bagbin’s announcement aligns with growing calls by anti-corruption institutions and advocates who are calling for aggressive legal tools to fight graft in the country.
Meanwhile, the Special Prosecutor, William Kissi Agyebeng, has also shared how his outfit is working to ensure there are constitutional reforms to allow lifestyle audits and asset seizures, even without a criminal conviction.
Addressing participants at the West Africa Regional Anti-Corruption Policy Dialogue in Accra, Mr. Agyebeng described as outdated, the current legal framework, saying they are ineffective for curbing modern corruption schemes.
He proposed a “reverse onus” clause that would require individuals to explain the source of their wealth or risk forfeiture of unexplained assets.
“In matters of anti-corruption, prevention is always better than cure,” he said. “Investigations and prosecutions are slow, expensive, and often unproductive due to entrenched secrecy and wealth layering.”
The Special Prosecutor stated that lifestyle audits remain one of the most cost-effective ways to expose and deter illicit enrichment, adding that asset recovery should not be contingent upon lengthy criminal proceedings.
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