The Special Prosecutor, Martin Alamisi Amidu, may soon be dragging the Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo to court, as a representative of the state, to compel heads of institutions to comply with corruption laws.
Martin Amidu in his latest epistle which details the challenges of the newly created Office of the Special Prosecutor in executing its mandate of fighting corruption, accused heads of institutions of disregarding anti-corruption regulations.
“The biggest challenge facing the Office of the Special Prosecutor as an anti-corruption investigatory and prosecutorial body in spite of all the powers conferred upon it is not the President who promised the people of Ghana to establish the Office but the heads of institutions who simply refuse to comply with laws designed to ensure good governance and to protect the national purse by fighting corruption,” Mr. Amidu stated in the opening paragraph of his article.
He explained that there have been instances where heads of institutions declined statutory requests from his office to provide information and documents for investigations into corruption allegations.
He said the heads of institutions, though admonished by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, continue not to cooperate with his office in the fight against corruption.
The Special Prosecutor hinted he will explore other legal means when all avenues are exhausted, something he said could mean suing the Attorney General who is a legal representative of the state.
“This Office can also go to the High Court to compel heads of institutions to obey the laws that support the fight against corruption. The consequence will be that in accordance with the civil procedure rules this Office will have to sue the Attorney General as the representative of the State”, he hinted.
“Those who know the history and character of the Special Prosecutor know that he is ready, able and willing to go this route should that be the only option left for the Office to effectively execute the anti-corruption mandate entrusted to him by the people of Ghana who supported his appointment”, he added.
Mr. Amidu also accused them of interference which he said undermines the independence of his office.
“There have also been cases where some heads of institutions have made it their habit to interfere with and undermine the independence of this Office by deliberately running concurrent investigations falling within the jurisdiction of this Office with on-going investigations in this Office for the sole purpose of aborting investigations into corruption and corruption-related offences”.
He has however commended the President, the Minister of Finance, the Chief of Staff, the Auditor General, the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, and the Financial Intelligence Center who have been very supportive of the Office so far.
By P.D Wedam|3news.com|Ghana