Tackling corruption
By Cecil MENSAH
Scrutinisers of the much publicized Special Prosecutor’s Office Bill laid before Parliament have raised concerns about the mode of financing for the operations of the Special Prosecutor (SP).
According to Civil Society Organizations, the aspect of the draft Bill that provides that the operations of the Special Prosecutor (SP) can be funded by donations and grants will create a window for the SP’s office to be corrupted in the line of his or her duties.
If you have an institution that has the powers to prosecute anybody receiving donations, it will open a corrupt window, the CSOs opined.
The CSOs made up of Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) and the Parliamentary News Africa were of the view that this aspect of the Bill will not auger well for the total independence of the Special Prosecutor.
They were of the view that, this aspect of the Bill can make some unscrupulous individuals, groups and organizations to make donations to the office to trade favours.
At a media dialogue on the office of the Special Prosecutor Bill in Accra; Mr. Bentil, Vice President of the policy think tank IMANI-Ghana, said leaving that aspect in the Bill will expose the yet-to-be-established office to prosecute corrupt state officials to corruption.
“The fact that the Bill is stating the office can rely on donations and grants for its operations will open a can of worms when it comes to corruption,” he said.
He added that even a revised clause that says that the office can solicit for a grant with the approval of the Minister of Finance must also be deleted for the state to look for the money to fully fund the office.
He said in spite of all these, Ghana is fully ready for the Special Prosecutor’s Office; “we need it to fight these cancers of corruption that have bedevilled public office holders in the country.”
Regarding CSO perspectives on the OSP Bill, Dr. Kojo Asante, a Senior Research Fellow at Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), said their deliberation with Parliament has led to some changes to the Bill.
He added that this is the only Bill that has received political consensus; it is the only Bill that has appeared in the manifestoes of the two main political parties in the country.
Whilst the National Democratic Congress is proposing to have the office under the office of the Attorney-General, the Governing New Patriotic Party is moving to have it as an independent office to prosecute and investigate corruption.
He said the creation of the OSP will insulate the Attorney-General’s office from political controls by the executive arm when it comes to the prosecution of corrupt officials.
He said under an OSP law, public officials who conceal or refuse to furnish the OSP with the needed information on wrong doings in their organizations will be prosecuted.
Apart from that, properties acquired out of corruption can also be confiscated to the state unlike the norm where the culprit goes to jail and comes back to enjoy their ill-gotten wealth.
