Opening the Envelope: IMANI’s Campaign to Track Politician’s Wealth Beginning with Baba Jamal & Cecilia Dapaah
This morning, I instructed IMANI’s analysts and legal advisors to launch a new campaign: using Right to Information (RTI) requests to track the wealth accumulation of senior politicians through “longitudinal” analysis.
For thirty years, Ghana’s asset declarations have been filed in sealed envelopes. In that form, they might as well not exist. IMANI is here to challenge the administrative secrecy that has hollowed out Article 286 of our Constitution.
No Confidentiality!
While the Constitution commands public office holders to declare assets, it says nothing about confidentiality. The Public Office Holders Act (Act 550) likewise contains no express secrecy clause. The “sealed envelope” practice is merely a bureaucratic habit inherited and never challenged.
With the passage of the RTI Act (Act 989) in 2020, this secrecy is now legally indefensible. Act 989 presumes openness. Arguments for “privacy” are weak. Upon assuming public office, officials accept reduced privacy regarding their financial interests. Furthermore, factual and statistical data cannot be withheld under the law. We won’t rest until we peel away this “sealing scam.”
Our Initial Test Cases
We have selected two individuals to spearhead this legal battle:
- Hon. Cecilia Dapaah: Her case involving substantial cash discovered at her residence entered the public domain in 2023. The public is entitled to know if her declared assets match her accumulated wealth. Sealed declarations have denied us a grounded conversation on this issue.
- Mr. Mohammed Baba Jamal Ahmed: A former Deputy Minister and diplomat, recalled amid allegations of vote-buying, is now an MP. His case highlights the need to see what was declared at entry, mid-term, and exit to track material changes over time.
This isn’t harassment. We just want a legal ruling to open the door for all Ghanaians to hold their leaders accountable.
The Road Ahead
Our strategy is staged for maximum impact:
- Stage 1: Formal RTI applications to the Auditor-General.
- Stage 2: Internal Review and Appeal to the RTI Commission.
- Stage 3: Judicial Review and Constitutional Challenge in the courts.
We are also leveraging Ghana’s current relationship with the IMF. As Ghana undergoes its 2026 reviews, a refusal to disclose these records will serve as documented evidence of a structural deficiency in our accountability framework (fixing asset declaration is one of the reforms expected under the program). We cannot always run to Washington for salvation; we must assume the mantle of checking our own government.
Beyond the Courtroom
Winning in court is just the first hill. Our broader goal is systemic reform:
- An express, publicly accessible register of declarations.
- A verification mechanism to cross-check declarations against financial records.
- Annual filing intervals instead of the current four-year cycle.
- Automatic sanctions for non-compliance.
This is a drawn-out fight, but IMANI is ready. We invite all public-spirited individuals with legal and forensic skills to join us. For Ghana, our Motherland.
