The President John Dramani Mahama has stated government still believes there is still space for an effective office of the Special Prosecutor despite recent High Court ruling.
An Accra High Court recently ruled that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) cannot independently prosecute cases without authorization from the Attorney-General, declaring ongoing prosecutions unauthorized and void. The OSP has appealed this decision, which affects its prosecutorial powers under Article 88(4) of the 1992 Constitution.
According to the President, “even though some of the issues about the OSP are pending appeals at the Supreme Court interpretation, government believes that there is space for an effective Office of the Special Prosecutor with special powers for prosecution.”
The President said this while addressing workers on May Day cemebration in Koforidua. He reiterated and assured the workers government commitment to the fight against corruption.
“We are committed to the fight against corruption, those who serve in public office must be prepared to be accountable to the people. The public officers code of conduct bill is expected to be passed by parliament at its next session, this will codify the conduct of public officers and issue guidelines on conflict of interest.”
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He noted that a new asset declaration regime will also be approved by Parliament in order to ensure that the access declaration regime is made more “meaningful”.
Additionally, the President highlighted that persons indicted in the Auditor General’s Report will be prosecuted in the newly created additional High Courts this year in addition to the Auditor’s General power of disallowance and surcharge.
“From this year, persons indicted in the Auditor General’s Report will be prosecuted in this new court.In addition to the Auditor General’s power on dissallowance and surcharge,” the President hinted.
On the Resetting Ghana Agenda, President John Mahama said government has been able to successfully restore micro economic stability and it is now aggressively pursuing growth and job creation, emphasizing that government will not just manage the economy, but will expand it to create jobs and prosperity for the Ghanaian people and the mission is to turn stability into opportunity.
He hinted that, the Minister of Finance Casiel Ato Forson will soon present the new economic policy of Ghana to cabinet and parliament which aims to focus on investing 1% of GDP annually in selected growth areas of the economy that are highly yielding in job creation”
“The 24 hour economy policy recently approved by parliament is a a flagship of our growth strategy, we are moving beyond the 8 hour work day and the manufacturing sector will provide tax and other incentives to industries and reduce power cost for companies that operate multiple work shift” the President said.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh/Kojo Ansah
