Kofi Bentil, Vice President of IMANI Africa, has said that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) should not be scrapped.
He says the office should be empowered to function better.
“I don’t think we should scrap the OSP; let’s empower the office to perform better. The chorus for the collapse of the office must stop,” he said on the Key Points on TV3, Saturday, December 13.
For his part, South Dayi lawmaker, Rockson Nelson-Dafeamekpor, said that the Office of the Special Prosecutor cannot become a monster on its own after parliament passed the law to establish it.
Nonetheless, he said, they agreed to yield to the request by President John Dramani Mahama to withdraw the bill that was seeking to abolish the OSP.
“Parliament cannot create an office that will become a monster on its own. We have, however, decided to yield to the President’s directive to withdraw the bill,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, December 13.
President John Dramani Mahama had requested the Majority Leader and Majority Chief Whip in Parliament to withdraw the Private Member’s Bill tabled for the repeal of the Act establishing the Office of Special Prosecutor.
Two Members of Parliament have sponsored a private members bill to repeal the Office of Special Prosecutor Act, 2017.
The two MPs are: Mahama Ayariga, Member of Parliament for Bawku Central and Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, Member of Parliament for South Dayi.
In a memorandum dated December 8, they contended that “…operational experience since the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor has revealed persistent challenges, including the duplication of constitutional prosecutorial functions of the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the Attorney-General, institutional friction and jurisdictional overlap resulting in delays and inefficiencies.”
They further stated that, “Other challenges include high operational costs of the Office of the Special Prosecutor with limited demonstrable impact relative to budgetary allocations, fragmentation of national prosecutorial policy and strategy and challenges in sustaining long-term institutional capacity due to parallel administrative infrastructure.”
A statement issued on Thursday, December 11, by the Minister of Government Communication, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, said the President’s request follows his public expression of support for the strengthening of the OSP as a vital agency in the fight against corruption.
At a meeting with the Peace Council on Wednesday, December 10, President John Dramani Mahama opposed calls for the closure of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
Speaking at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, President Mahama explained that it is premature for anyone to demand the scrapping of the Office.
“That’s why we are resourcing the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the other anti-corruption institutions, including the Office of the Special Prosecutor. Recently, there have been some controversies surrounding the Office of the Special Prosecutor. I think it is premature to call for the closure of that Office,” the President stated.
The President said the OSP was uniquely established to fight corruption, noting that it is the only anti-corruption agency with prosecutorial powers and can prosecute without seeking authority from the Attorney-General.
According to him, unlike the Attorney-General, the OSP is not a partisan office but a neutral one established to fight corruption.
“The unique thing about that Office is that it is the only anti-corruption agency that has prosecutorial powers to prosecute cases without going through the Attorney-General. People had mistrust for the Attorney-General because the Attorney-General is normally a member of government and a Minister of State, and so they believed that the Attorney-General would be reluctant to prosecute his own,” he stressed.
President Mahama urged the Special Prosecutor to speed up investigations into corruption-related cases, prosecute corrupt officials, and prove to the public that the Office remains relevant.
