A leading member of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and businessman, Mr. P. V. Jantuah Boateng Dadson, has called for the outright scrapping of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), describing it as “unfit for purpose.”
Speaking on Ultimate FM’s Cup of Tea Morning Show, Mr. Boateng argued that the 1992 Constitution of Ghana already grants the Attorney General (AG) the exclusive authority to prosecute all criminal cases on behalf of the state, a mandate that renders the OSP redundant.
“The Constitution empowers the Minister of Justice, who doubles as the Attorney General, to prosecute any form of criminality within or outside government machinery. The Ghana Police Service can lead prosecutions under the directives of the Attorney General. No matter how the OSP’s bill was crafted, its powers and operations still fall under the AG,” Mr. Boateng stated.
He further questioned the rationale behind the establishment of the OSP, referencing former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, under whose administration the office was created.
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“I was surprised that President Akufo-Addo, who once held the belief that the Attorney General’s role was supreme in all prosecutions, went on to create the Office of the Special Prosecutor. Back in 2005, the Daily Graphic published a story during his vetting as Foreign Minister in which he emphasized that the ‘conflict of the Attorney General is superfluous.’ So to me, the OSP was dead on arrival,” he lamented.
Mr. Boateng advised that instead of maintaining what he views as an ineffective institution, government should strengthen and resource the Attorney General’s Department to enhance its efficiency.
“If I were to advise President John Dramani Mahama, I’d tell him to scrap the OSP entirely. Let’s channel those resources into the Attorney General’s Department; recruit more qualified lawyers, equip the regional offices, and pay them well. I don’t see why corruption and bribery cases are handled only in Accra when every region has a High Court,” he concluded.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh/Emmanuel Anyam
