Ghana has various declaration form requirements spanning health, finance, and public service. These forms ensure regulatory compliance, public accountability, and national security. This article provides a detailed overview of these requirements.
Health Declaration Form
At every entry point into Ghana, travelers disembark from their flights/vessels/vehicles and they provide a completed health declaration form.
The form is designed to gather essential health information to prevent the spread of diseases, such as Ebola.
Sections of the Health Declaration Form
The health declaration form typically comprises three key sections:
- Personal Information: This section collects personal information, including:
- Name
- Age
- Sex
- Nationality
- Country of Departure
- Countries Visited on This Trip
- Passport Number
- Flight/Vessel/Vehicle Number
- Seat Number
- Contact Address in Ghana: This section requires travelers to provide their contact details while in Ghana, including:
- Location
- Street Name
- Phone Number
- Symptoms and Contact History: This section includes questions related to potential exposure to infectious diseases, such as:
- Have you had close contact with patients or suspects suffering from Ebola/Viral Haemorrhagic Fever in the past 21 days?
- Have you had close contact with domestic animals or wildlife in the past 21 days?
- Do you have any of the under-listed signs and symptoms:
- Fever
- Cough
- Headache
- Vomiting
- Bodily Weakness
- Diarrhea
- Sore Throat
- Bleeding from any part of the body
Port Health Officer Procedures
At each border entry, port health officers are stationed to screen travelers.
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All travelers disembark, health declaration form completed, and temperature measured by the health officials.
Through observation, health officials also look out for Ebola symptoms.
Travelers who are suspected based on the case definition are isolated at the holding or isolation room at the border entry.
The district director of health service and the rapid response team are contacted immediately by telephone.
The district director then reports to the regional health directorate immediately for onward reporting to the national level of a suspected case.
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A laboratory officer who is a member of the team visits the isolation or holding room at the border entry to collect, document, package, store and transport specimens to the reference laboratory for confirmation.
The port health officer then collates the number of travelers screened and detected with fever or febrile illness each day. The information is then recorded in the weekly epidemiological/surveillance report by the port health unit and submitted to the district disease control officer.
The recorded information is submitted to the district health administration using weekly reporting forms.
All suspected cases are referred for further investigation and confirmation. The district's rapid response team then conduct further investigation, including obtaining specimens for confirmation at Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research which is the only laboratory with the capacity for confirming suspected EVD cases in Ghana.
Import Declaration Forms (IDFs)
The Ghana Association of Banks (GAB) has clarified a key issue regarding Import Declaration Forms (IDFs). In a statement, GAB explained that the IDF is a Customs document.
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It is created and managed by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) through the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS).
GAB noted that some banks have found issues with importers. Some importers use IDFs to start advance payments but later create new forms without informing their banks.
When this occurs, banks take immediate action. They may suspend further advance payments for affected customers until all documents are verified.
To address this, GAB is working with the Bank of Ghana, GRA, and ICUMS. They have set up a multi-stakeholder committee to review the IDF process.
GAB also clarified that the USD 200,000 transaction threshold applies only to certain customers. This applies when they lack full import documentation at payment time.
The Association reaffirmed its commitment to regulatory compliance and integrity. They stressed that alleged irregularities arise from misuse of IDFs by some importers, not from banks themselves.
“Banks maintain rigorous internal controls,” said Chief Executive Officer John Awuah in the statement.
The Ghana Association of Banks remains dedicated to working with regulators.
Foreign Currency Declaration
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The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has announced a review of its guidelines on the importation and exportation of foreign currencies, allowing travellers to carry up to $10,000 or its equivalent in other foreign currencies without declaration.
The central bank said the move, which takes effect from September 1, 2025, forms part of efforts to strengthen anti-money laundering measures and regulate cross-border movement of cash.
Travellers carrying amounts above US$10,000 must declare such funds in full using the official Foreign Currency Declaration Form (FX-5) from the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), indicating the source and purpose of the funds.
Inbound travellers carrying amounts above US$10,000 must also present proof of declaration of such funds from their port of origin or departure.
Acceptable proofs include:
- Endorsed bank slips evidencing withdrawal or purchase of the foreign currency.
Asset Declaration for Public Officials
Public officials are entrusted with the authority to award contracts, allocate resources, and oversee decisions involving public funds.
To ensure they act in the public’s interest rather than for personal gain, most countries require them to declare their assets, liabilities, and other interests, including those owned or controlled by their families and close associates.
Requiring public officials to disclose their assets and interests before, during, and after their tenure enables effective monitoring of any enrichment during their time in office.
Legal Framework and Challenges
The Conduct of Public Officers Bill, a draft law that would strengthen existing legislation on asset declaration and regulate the conduct of public officials (“the Bill”), has suffered many stillbirths after its introduction in Parliament in 2008, 2015 and 2020.
It was not prioritized despite promises by the outgoing President to ensure its passage before his tenure ends.
Scope of Asset Declaration Laws
Under Ghanaian law, persons subject to asset declaration laws are occupants of public office.
The Ghanaian Constitution provides that “public office includes an office the emoluments attached to which are paid directly from the Consolidated Fund or directly out of money provided by Parliament and an office in a public corporation established entirely out of public funds or money provided by Parliament” (Article 295).
For the purposes of coverage of asset declaration laws, this definition is limited in scope because it fails to include persons who serve at the behest of the state, including directors of companies which the state has a non-controlling interest in.
The state maintains a stake in several companies, including GOIL PLC (formerly known as GOIL Company Limited).
The regulations of these companies allow the state to appoint certain persons to serve on its behalf on the boards of directors.
Such individuals make decisions with various financial implications for the state and reap the benefits and financial advantages of their positions.
Therefore, it is reasonable to require such individuals to declare their assets and liabilities.
Disclosure Requirements
In addition to personal and business assets disclosure, it is considered good practice for public officials to disclose sources of income, positions held in profit or non-profit organizations, debts, gifts, payments for travel, advances, reimbursement as well as assets and income of spouse and dependent children.
Most countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Nigeria require that public officials declare the assets of their spouse and children in a separate declaration, to prevent dishonest officials from hiding their assets in their spouse or relatives’ names.
Frequency of Filing Asset Declarations
Under Ghanaian law, public officers must declare their assets before taking office, every four years, and at the end of their tenure.
The 4-year interval is unjustifiably long and problematic.
The frequency of filing asset declarations is crucial to monitoring and recovering any enrichment or ill-gotten wealth by public officers.
The country has a better chance of detecting corruption and unjust enrichment of public officers with a shorter filing interval.
Most countries such as Tanzania, United States of America, Romania, South Korea, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, make provision for a yearly filing interval in addition to the initial declaration upon entry into office and after the end of the term. Uganda and Kenya have a two-year filing interval.
Public Access to Declarations
Experience in most countries suggests that allowing public access to declarations significantly enhances the impact of asset declaration laws.
However, Clause 12 of the Bill seeks to restrict disclosure of officials’ declaration to an authorized staff of the CHRAJ when a public officer is under investigation; the declarant or his representative; and “a person authorized by law”.
This is problematic and inconsistent with modern best practices.
Most countries make provision for the creation of a register of declarations that allow public disclosure.
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