General News of Thursday, 22 February 2018
Source: take2live.com
2018-02-22
Nana Kwasi Awuah, Founding Member of CitizenGhana Movement
On Thursday 11th January, 2018, the President announced his acceptance of the Attorney – General’s nomination of Hon. Martin ABK Amidu as Special Prosecutor. The announcement followed the presidential assent to the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017, Act 959, on 2nd January, 2018.
This news received very popular welcome across the entire country. And hence it was not surprising to find that on 20th February, 2018, Hon. Martin Amidu was approved by Parliament after an overwhelming majority endorsement by the Appointment Committee of Parliament which subjected him to over seven hours of vetting.
CitizenGhana Movement have come out to congratulate the Special Prosecutor. Hon. Martin Amidu and offered their greatest assurances of support to the Office of the Special Prosecutor. “We at the CitizenGhana Movement wish to join our fellow “countrymen and women” to congratulate Hon. Martin Amidu on this historic appointment.”
It is disturbing to find that the 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index just released by Transparency International scores Ghana at 40. The 2017 score is a further decline in the previous years’ scores – 48 in 2014, 47 in 2015 and 43 in 2016. It is worth noting that the establishing legislation, the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, has as one of its functions, “to receive and investigate complaints from a person on a matter that involves or may involve corruption and corruption – related offences.”
“We wish to encourage all persons, citizens and non – citizens, natural and artificial, to take advantage of this provision to report cases of corruption and corruption – related offences. We find this to be in tandem with the constitutional obligation cast on all citizens in Article 41(f) “to protect and preserve public property and expose and combat misuse and waste of public funds and property”.
CitizenGhana Movement offers itself as a medium through which persons may make such complaints of corruption and corruption – related offences to the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
“Finally, we offer our greatest assurances of support to the Office of th e Special Prosecutor and we call on all and sundry to do likewise. We have reposed a lot of confidence in the creation of the Office of the Special Prosecutor and especially in the man who is going to occupy that office for the first time. There is no iota of doubt that Hon. Martin Amidu shall discharge his duties creditably, dispassionately and without ill or favour.”
Ayekoo to Ghana’s first Special Prosecutor.