A private legal practitioner and Member of Parliament for the Manhyia South Constituency, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has cautioned against the growing calls for the institutionalisation of lifestyle audits in Ghana, warning that such measures, if not properly managed, could lead to the weaponisation of power and a culture of witch-hunting.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Tuesday, June 10, the MP expressed concern over proposals to formalise lifestyle audits as an independent tool outside the existing investigative structure.
He argued that key investigative institutions in Ghana, including the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), and the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), already possess the constitutional mandate to scrutinise suspicious financial behaviour.
“When you look at what we call lifestyle audit, all the investigative agencies exercising powers mandated under the constitution or their establishing laws have them,” Mr. Baffour Awuah stated.
“So when you take an institution like the Ghana Revenue Authority, when they are doing an audit on an institution or on a person, they already have that mandate.”
Citing examples of recent banking sector actions, the MP noted that accounts have been frozen by the FIC where deposit patterns appeared inconsistent over time. Such moves, he explained, are within the remit of state bodies acting under existing laws.
“Every institution of state set up by law in exercising the mandate or powers given by law has the power to do so – it might not be characterised as a lifestyle audit, but it is consistent with the constitution,” he said.
He further warned that legislating a standalone lifestyle audit regime may not only duplicate existing structures but also undermine institutional independence.
More alarmingly, he believes it could give undue power to individuals, thereby encouraging abuse.
“If we are not careful, we are going to build a country where people will be given the power to witch-hunt others,” he cautioned. “We are at risk of weaponising men rather than institutions, who could then use such authority to terrorise citizens.”
Mr Baffour Awuah stressed the need to remain grounded in the constitutional rights of Ghanaians, including the right to own property, which can only be limited under specific conditions such as the investigation or commission of a crime.
He acknowledged the critical role of state bodies such as the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Office of the Special Prosecutor, both of which, he asserted, already possess adequate legal frameworks to conduct necessary investigations.
“We must be careful. When someone is under pressure to deliver, they may resort to shortcuts. That’s why we need to strengthen existing institutions rather than create parallel avenues that may be misused,” the MP concluded.