By Philip Antoh
President John Mahama has boldly defended the Office of the Special Prosecuting (OSP) adding that it is too early for anyone to call for the scraping of the office.
According to the President, the office of OSP still plays a vital role in Ghana’s fight against corruption and corruption related cases.
During a visit from the National Peace Council at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, December 10, the President highlighted that the OSP is the only anti-corruption organization with complete prosecutorial independence.
“I think it’s too early to call for the closure of that office,” President Mahama stated.
“What makes that office unique is that it is the only anti-corruption agency that can prosecute cases on its own without needing to go through the Attorney-General.”
He pointed out that the public’s lack of trust in the Attorney-General’s office, due to the AG being part of the current government, makes the OSP’s independence even more important.
“People think the Attorney-General would be hesitant to prosecute his own people,” he remarked.
“However, with an independent office like the Office of the Special Prosecutor, it doesn’t matter who you are, because they have job security and the authority to prosecute.”
President Mahama encouraged the OSP to speed up its current cases to rebuild public trust.
“People want to see more prosecutions and results. I urge the OSP to accelerate some of these investigations and demonstrate that the office is still very important,” he added.
The President comments comes after the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, called for the elimination of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), he argued that the institution has not fulfilled its main purpose eight years after it was created.
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, December 4, the Majority Leader questioned the constitutional foundation and effectiveness of the OSP, insisting that Parliament should rethink its previous decision to approve its establishment.
He stated that the effort to create the OSP in a way that seemed to comply with the Constitution was flawed from the beginning.
Mr. Ayariga further mentioned that after nearly eight years, the OSP has not shown any significant results in fighting corruption.
During the same session, Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, expressed serious concerns about the ongoing allocation of substantial budget resources to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), calling the spending unjustifiable considering the office’s performance.
Speaker Bagbin pointed out that even though there was initial support for the establishment of the OSP, its performance has not lived up to the considerable investment made.
Several notable figures in Ghana’s legal community, including the former President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Sam Okudzeto, have supported calls to abolish the office, arguing that it has not fulfilled its intended purpose and is simply wasting State resources.