Governance expert and Director of Policy Engagements at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Dr. Kojo Pumpuni Asante, has warned against what he describes as a dangerous and irreparable conflict of interest embedded in the culture of accepting gifts by presidents.

Speaking on JoyNews' PM Express with Evans Mensah on Tuesday, he responded to President John Mahama’s recent launch of a code of conduct for appointees and revelations that he received two luxury vehicles as gifts during his presidency—gifts he reportedly declared and returned to the state pool.

For Dr. Asante, the gesture, even with good intentions, is not enough.

His warning comes as the debate over asset declaration, transparency, and conflict of interest continues to deepen.

While many applaud Mr. Mahama’s symbolic gesture of launching a code, others, like Dr. Asante, say symbols alone are not enough.

“It’s a no-no,” he said firmly. “These are high-value gifts. How are you going to determine whether the President gets influenced or not in those kinds of scenarios?”

He insisted that the mere act of accepting such gifts, regardless of what is later done with them, creates a conflict of interest so deep and so complex that “you can’t really cure” it.

“It’s very difficult to establish any benefit one way or the other,” Dr. Asante noted. “As much as possible, we should just avoid these kinds of gifts.”

His concern centres on the enormous power wielded by the presidency and the ease with which subtle favours can be exchanged under the guise of harmless gestures.

“The President has a lot of power to create these kinds of conflict of interest scenarios,” he explained. “And because of that, we must not give room for this kind of ambiguity.”

The President’s new code of conduct for appointees outlines ethical expectations and a framework for asset declaration, gift handling, and conduct in office.

But Dr. Asante sees troubling gaps, especially in how gift thresholds are being proposed.

Referring to the suggested GH¢20,000 ceiling for gifts before declaration, he called for a complete rethink.

“For me, the threshold and how we administer gift giving must be reviewed. We have to look at best practices from around the world,” he stressed. “This behaviour must change.”

He acknowledged that Ghana’s political and social culture makes such changes uncomfortable. Gift-giving is often seen as a cultural norm or a symbol of goodwill.

But when it comes to the presidency, the stakes are too high to let tradition take precedence over ethics.

“We are so used to doing these things that making this behaviour change will be very uncomfortable,” he admitted. “But if we are resetting the system, we cannot leave room for this.”

Dr. Asante also raised concerns about the sincerity and enforcement mechanisms behind codes of conduct issued during campaign seasons.

“We have seen documents and codes in the past. But what matters is enforcement. Will this code bind the appointees when they are in power? What happens when it is breached?” he questioned.

He argued that Ghana needs more than paper pledges. It needs a cultural shift backed by institutional reform.