…Reveals Chiefs were against assets declaration
In a surprising revelation, a Senior Presidential Advisor, has literarily refuted the long-standing belief that members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) boycotted the consultative assembly responsible for crafting the 1992 constitution due to perceived intellectual deficiencies.
Instead, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, disclosed his involvement in shaping the pivotal document, challenging the age-old narrative that it was solely in the domain of commoners often described as nonentities.
For years, accusations were levelled against the late Jerry John Rawlings, suggesting he assembled an unconventional group, including farmers, fishermen, and fishmongers, to draft Ghana’s foundational law after his eleven-year military rule, to suit his hotheaded persona for a return to constitutional rule in 1992.
However, Osafo-Maafo’s assertion yesterday, contradicts this, as he claimed to have contributed discreetly as a consultant during the constitution’s formulation.
Speaking at a stakeholder engagement of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) held at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra, Osafo-Maafo, 82, emphasized the imperative of transparency in governance, particularly in the disclosure of assets by public officials.
He recounted facing opposition from traditional leaders when advocating for the publication of asset declarations, citing concerns over potential repercussions.
“I happened to be consulting for somebody when we were drawing up the constitution of the republic and I was championing the publication of the assets declared and the chiefs were so furious with me and said they would be killed when people knew what they had.”
Mr Osafo-Maafo, did not mention who he worked for.
Addressing attendees, the Senior Presidential Advisor underscored the pivotal role of transparency in fostering accountability within Ghana’s governance framework, advocating for increased openness in asset disclosure practices.
Legal brains and other constitutional experts, have for years without number argued that the 1992 constitution was specifically drawn around Mr Rawlings who died on November 12, 2020, at age 73, and called for amendments.
In January 2010, the John Evans Atta Mills administration, set up the Constitution Review Commission, a presidential Commission of Inquiry, to consult with the people of Ghana on the operation of the 1992 Constitution and on any changes that need to be made to the Constitution.
The Commission, was also tasked to present a draft bill for the amendment of the Constitution, if any changes were warranted. The report captured the establishment, mandate, methodology, and processes of the Commission.
The report summarized all the submissions received from Ghanaians on the review of the 1992 Constitution; provides the current state of the law on each distinct set of submissions; states the findings and observations of the Commission on the submissions; and puts forward the recommendations of the Commission on each set of submissions.
Osafo-Maafo, pointed out that while current regulations mandate public officials, including ministers of state and select public sector personnel, to declare their assets to the auditor general, the lack of transparency in this process hampers accountability.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the current asset declaration framework, Osafo-Maafo, highlighted that the confidentiality maintained between the auditor general and individuals makes it difficult for scrutiny and accountability.
“In Ghana, when you become a minister of state or a public sector worker at certain levels, the first thing you do is to declare your assets and file same to the auditor general. What I personally don’t like about this law is that after you declare your asset, everything is kept confidential between the auditor general and yourself and therefore, it becomes difficult for anybody to challenge the authenticity of the declaration.
“I think that we should declare the assets but there should be a certain level of transparency in the declaration of the assets so that people can assess what is declared by certain procedures.”
The Senior Presidential Advisor, highlighted the prevailing cultural norms around inheritance, which he said were given in opposition during the formulation of the Declaration of Asset and Disqualification Act.
Osafo-Maafo, had served as the Managing Director of the state-owned Bank of Housing and Construction (BHC) during the Rawlings era. The bank collapsed under his watch.
His senior brother, Dr Isaac Adjei Marfo, served in the Rawlings government as Secretary of Cocoa Affairs during the military era and also as Minister of State during the constitutional era.
He was later the subject of an asset investigation by the Commission on Human Rights and Administration Justice (CHRAJ) together with the late PV Obenga, a presidential advisor, Colonel (Rtd.) Emmanuel M. Osei-Wusu, a Minister of the Interior from 1992–1996.
The investigation was carried out upon a petition filed by Kofi Koomson, owner of the Ghanaian Chronicle Newspaper, a fierce critic of the Rawlings government.
