Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has asked President John Dramani Mahama the whereabouts of the asset declaration bill he promised in the state of the nation address.
Kpebu argues that Article 108 of the constitution directs that before parliament debates the bill, it must first be published at the Assembly Press.
However, he said he has not been able to obtain a copy of the draft bill from the Assembly press.
Speaking on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, June 27, he said, “Where are we on the new asset declaration law?
He said he had given the bill to parliament, but even if parliament gets to debate it, it must first be gazetted at the assembly press. I have been there several times but can’t get it.
“The Bill he mentioned in SONA in February, we are interested in, and we are chasing the bill.
“Why are we interested in the bill? Are there provisions that say when a public officer declares his assets, those assets will be published online? Mr President, we need to see that Bill.”
Also speaking on the same show, another lawyer, Kofi Bentil, said that as part of the asset declaration, the president must issue a fiat that all his appointees should remain in Ghana for at least twelve months after he leaves office for them to account for their stewardship.
“When a person is in power, it is difficult to deal with their infractions. It is only when they leave power that you can do that.
“As part of the asset declaration, the people who handle our county must stay in the country after leaving office
“The president must make a requirement that all his appointees must stay in Ghana at least for one year to account for their stewardship. This should be added to the code of conduct.”
Their comments come at a time when the cabinet directed the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, to draft a bill that will provide guidance on how to protect state assets.
This was disclosed by President John Dramani Mahama at the Civil Society Forum held at the University of Ghana on June 25.
The President said the draft bill will be submitted to Parliament accordingly.
“I’m happy to announce to you that yesterday, the Cabinet took a decision directing the Attorney-General to draft a bill for the protection of state assets. It’s called the State Assets Protection Bill,” he said.
According to President Mahama, the Bill “shows the guidelines under which any state assets can be disposed, including lands, buildings, state assets, factories, industries, so that no government just capriciously disposes of state assets.”
It is recalled that in January 2025, the President tasked the Lands Commission to stop the sale, lease and processing of transactions relating to state and public lands. The embargo was lifted in September 2025 after elaborate verification procedures were established.
The President also announced that Cabinet has approved a new National Ethics and Anti- corruption Action Plan to be rolled out from 2026 to 2030.
“And I wish to use this platform to restate my commitment to transparent and accountable governance. In my past presidency, I had the privilege of launching the 10-year National Anti-Corruption Action Plan in 2015. And I’m pleased to report to you that just yesterday, cabinets approved the new National Ethics and Anti-Corruption Action Plan for onward transmission to Parliament,” he revealed.
President Mahama said the approval of the plan is evidence of commitment by the Government to enhance transparency in governance as well as rebuild public trust.
The NEACAP 2026–2030 was developed through thorough stakeholder engagement across the country. It aims to tackle weaknesses associated with the previous strategy, which was implemented from 2015 to 2024.
