Mahama Ayariga, the majority leader, has made a compelling case for the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to be abolished, calling it “unconstitutional, confused, ineffective, and a failed experiment” that hasn’t produced any noteworthy outcomes since it was established almost eight years ago.
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday while discussing the Electoral Commission and Audit Service’s budget estimates, Ayariga pointed to the detention and arrest of private attorney Martin Kpebu as further evidence of an organization functioning outside the bounds of the constitution.
Ayariga emphasized that the Attorney General, not any other agency, has exclusive prosecuting authority under Ghana’s Constitution.
“I opposed it. The Hansard will bear me out. I took the position that it is unconstitutional to strip the Attorney General of the power to prosecute criminal cases.”
He referred to the creation of the OSP as a constitutional ploy that sought to look respectable despite being in direct opposition to the nation’s legal system.
Ayariga asked what concrete results the OSP had achieved since its establishment.
“Mr. Speaker, tell me what the achievement of that office is. I cannot see any achievement. Major cases of clear corruption, up to date the office has not been able to do anything.”
He maintained that successful anti-corruption initiatives are driven by political commitment rather than the growth of new institutions.
He called on Parliament to empower the Attorney General, the only prosecutorial authority recognized by the constitution, in order to restore clarity.
“If the Attorney General is adequately resourced and protected by Parliament, that office will deliver.”
He contended that despite the OSP’s minimal influence, it was nonsensical that it frequently obtains financing that is on par with or higher than that of the Attorney General’s office.
Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin reaffirmed the worries in response to Ayariga’s arguments, stating that the OSP has never had a constitutional foundation.
“If you recall, during the deliberation on the OSP, a number of us stated on the floor of this house that there is no constitutional basis. But we wanted to signal to the world that we are going to fight corruption.”
“At the end of the day, we have seen the results. We cannot continue to allocate such huge sums to the same office when we are not getting the results.”
The Speaker stated that Parliament needs to reconsider how state institutions are funded and organized in light of ongoing constitutional revision initiatives.
He cited Standing Order 235, which requires the Budget Committee to work with the Presidency and the Ministry of Finance to establish national budget priorities. He pointed out that a number of important organizations, such as the Audit Service, the Parliament itself, and district-level organizations, are still woefully underfunded.
He emphasized that “What is provided for Parliament is woefully inadequate… The audit service too is so inadequately funded that they cannot do the work required of them,”
Bagbin cautioned that Ghana cannot accomplish significant democratic reforms without appropriate realignment.
“If not, please, let’s forget about real democracy or true democracy. We should stop deceiving ourselves.”
Additionally, he denounced agency-to-agency duplication of duties, such as newly proposed audit units carrying out duties already delegated to the Audit Service.
“This is one of the agencies we should be looking at,” Bagbin said, highlighting the absurdity in budgetary allocations. “It is getting almost the same amount as the Attorney General’s department. Please, let’s face the bull by the horns.”
He underlined that priority financing should go to the Attorney General since it was created under the constitution.
Ayariga made it clear that closing the OSP would not protect any dishonest people, “Abolishing the OSP will not let off anybody found culpable. Zacchaeus will not be let off the hook. I can assure you.”
He emphasized that the Attorney General can continue to handle ongoing matters.
Source: newsthemegh.com