Minister for Justice and Attorney-General, Gloria Akufo, Thursday, put up a spirited defense for the setting up of the Office of the Special Prosecutor, to fight corruption in the country when she appeared before Parliament and presented her case during the second reading of the Office of Special Prosecutor Bill 2017.
She said given the alarming level that corruption has reached in Ghana, and its negative impact on the economy of otherwise resourceful and rich country, there is the need for the state to take steps to eradicate corrupt practices in order to accelerate the rate of economic development in the country in fulfillment of Article 35 (8) of the Constitution.
This, she noted, can be achieved if the fight against corruption is intensified by probing into corruption scandals, noting that it’s only when the culprits are investigated, punished, and the proceeds of the crime recovered that zero tolerance for corruption will be realized.
The Bill provides the establishment of an office of the Special Prosecutor to initiate and conduct the prosecution of corruption and corruption related offences specified in the Bill devoid of any political interference from an Attorney-General as well as the authorization required from the Attorney-General in order for the Special Prosecutor to initiate and conduct the prosecution of corruption and corruption related offences in accordance with Article 88 (4) of the constitution.
The independence of the Special Prosecutor is secured by insulating the office from the direction from control of a person or by authority in the performance of the functions of the office.
But the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, still insists that the Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill in its current form is illegal.
He said the Minority in supporting the principle to fighting corruption should not be perceived as “corruption is an NDC phenomenon. It is not and it cannot and it will never be.”