Public officials must declare their assets publicly - Prof Adei

• Professor Stephen Adei has questioned how public officials acquire unexplained wealth overnight

• The former GRA Board Chairman says there’s the need for such officials to declare assets before assuming office to ensure transparency

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A former Board Chairman of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Professor Stephen Adei, has opined that it's about time people who hold public offices announce their assets publicly.

According to Prof Adei, such a directive will prevent persons who aspire to use public offices to accrue wealth for themselves from taking up such roles.

Speaking at the maiden edition of Governance and Business Leadership Awards in Accra on Friday, Professor Adei said, “The time has come that every public official must declare their asset publicly. And if we say that people will not accept public office when we do that, my answer would be that if thieves don’t want to go into public service, we are better off.”

Prof Adei further wondered how some of these public officials become wealthy after occupying public offices within a short period.

"We can't have some people occupy positions for two years and have five houses, it doesn't happen anywhere," he bemoaned.

Prof Adei was speaking on the theme, “Leadership and nation building; realities, challenges, and the way forward in contemporary Ghana.”

The event was organized by RAD Communications Limited.