A recent decision of the Supreme Court of Ghana has drawn a clear constitutional line on asset declaration by public officers: the obligation must be fulfilled before taking office. Any attempt to delay that duty, even by statute, cannot stand.
The ruling, delivered on March 18, 2026, arose from an action initiated by Mensah Thompson, Executive Director of the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA). At the heart of the case was a conflict between the Constitution and an Act of Parliament on when public officers must declare their assets.
The Legal Conflict
Ghana’s asset declaration regime is anchored in Article 286 of the 1992 Constitution. The provision is direct and unambiguous: certain public officers are required to submit a written declaration of their assets and liabilities to the Auditor-General before taking office.
However, Section 1(4) of the Public Office Holders (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act, 1997 (Act 550) appears to soften that requirement. While it acknowledges the obligation to declare assets at key stages, it allows up to six months after assuming office for compliance.
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This created a practical loophole. In effect, public officers could legally assume office and only later comply with a constitutional duty that was intended to be a precondition to holding that office.
The Challenge Before the Court
The plaintiff argued that this six-month window undermines the Constitution. Through his counsel it was contended that:
The Constitution clearly requires declaration before assumption of office.
Any statutory provision permitting a delay is inconsistent with that constitutional command.
Public officers who fail to declare their assets before taking office are, in effect, acting in breach of the Constitution.
The relief sought was a declaration that the six-month grace period under Act 550 is unconstitutional to the extent of its inconsistency with Article 286.
The Supreme Court’s Decision
In its ruling, it held that the six-month grace period cannot override the constitutional requirement. In other words, the Constitution’s timing requirement is mandatory and immediate. A public officer must comply before taking office, not after.
Although the Court is yet to release its full reasoning, with March 25, 2026 set for that purpose, the implication of the decision is already clear: statutory provisions cannot dilute constitutional safeguards designed to promote accountability in public office.
The immediate effect of this ruling is that compliance with Article 286 is no longer something that can be regularised after the fact. It is now a strict precondition.
This raises important administrative and legal questions:
What is the status of officials who assumed office without prior declaration?
Will there be stricter enforcement mechanisms going forward?
How will institutions ensure real-time compliance before swearing-in?
These are issues likely to be addressed, at least in part, when the Court delivers its full reasons.
