The Director of Policy Engagements and Partnerships at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) Dr Kojo Pumpuni Asante has stated President John Dramani Mahama should have flatly rejected the two luxurious car gifts.
According to him, such high-profile gifts should have been rejected by the president and not donated to the state.
He added that the president has too much power to create conflict-of-interest scenarios that cannot be cured.
Speaking on PM Express on Joy News May 6, Dr Asante stated, “You don’t accept and then donate; you reject. These are high-value gifts, and we must discourage private individuals of influence from making such donations to the President. The President holds too much power to create conflict of interest scenarios that you can’t cure.”
“How are you going to determine whether the President is influenced or not in those kinds of scenarios?” he asked.
He further added, “You simply can’t. So the best way forward is to avoid it entirely. These kinds of behaviours are hard to change because we’re so used to them, but if we’re serious about resetting, we must not leave room for such grey areas.”
“There’s a lot of best practice across the world. We just have to look at them carefully and apply them. If we really want to raise the standard of accountability and integrity, then there’s no room for accepting valuable gifts.”
“For me, that threshold and how we administer gift-giving need serious attention. Whether you declare it or not, the mere act of accepting a high-value item as President carries implications.”
“We need to change how we think about power and public office. If you’re the President and someone gives you two expensive cars, no matter how you rationalise it, it casts a shadow. It may be uncomfortable, but that’s the point. That discomfort is necessary if we want real change. Integrity is not supposed to be easy.”
Dr Kojo Pumpuni Asante’s comments come on the back of President Mahama publicly declaring receiving two vehicles as gifts, which he then handed over to the state at the launch of a new Code of Conduct for all appointees.
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