Expressing her views on the need for government appointees to declare their assets, she said that individuals should stop automatically viewing government appointees as corrupt simply because they have assets.
Speaking on TV3 NewDay on January 23, 2025, Jantuah acknowledged the importance of government appointees and officials openly declaring their assets for transparency. However, she emphasised that owning properties does not necessarily indicate people have engaged in corrupt practices.
“When it comes to asset declaration, it is a good thing but we shouldn’t always think that because somebody has assets means the person was corrupt. The fact that people have assets doesn’t make them corrupt,” she said.
The former General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), using herself as an example, detailed how some persons can build wealth by being frugal and responsible with their finances.
She explained that many appointees avoid extravagant lifestyles, opting to save the majority of their income, which may allow them to invest in properties while in office.
However, she added that appointees who enter government with one property but acquire additional properties by the time they leave office should be subjected to thorough questioning.
“… If someone has assets, it’s not always a sign of corruption. If a person enters government and declares they own one house, they should be questioned if, upon leaving, they own four. However, if someone comes into government with one house and later acquires another, it should raise questions, but it must also be considered in the context of them saving money, which could enable them to build a small house,” she added.
Her comments follow President
He gave the directive at the swearing-in ceremony of the first six appointed ministers at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.
“I expect all of you to begin the process of declaring your assets,” he said, adding that the Chief of Staff would soon announce a cut-off date by which all eligible appointees must submit their asset declaration forms to the Auditor-General.
Nana Yaa Jantuah’s stance on asset declaration appears to be shifting, especially considering her long-standing advocacy for public accountability and transparency in asset declaration.
What Nana Yaa Jantuah said in 2023
In her submission on TV3 in June 2023, Jantuah strongly advocated for asset declarations to be made a prerequisite for the vetting of ministerial nominees.
She went even further to suggest that ministerial nominees should only be approved by Parliament after they declare their assets.
“Assets declaration should be key. Before someone takes any public office, they should be made to declare their assets. For the ministers, it should be a prerequisite for vetting and passing through vetting successfully,” she proposed.
Jantuah added that family members and close relatives of these appointees should also be required to declare their assets upon exiting office.
“When they are exiting, there should be an exit asset declaration not only for themselves but the entire family and close relatives so everyone knows what they have financially.”
