The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has accused Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah and his team of failing to respond to Special Prosecutor Kissy Ajeben’s defense.
This follows public and institutional backlash over the Office of the Special Counsel’s alleged failure to successfully prosecute a single case since its creation.
Last week, Parliament Speaker Alban Bagbin said the creation of OSP was a wasteful move.
The Speaker of Parliament, who was speaking during the deliberation of the Promotion of Adequate Human Sexual Rights and Family Values ββin Ghana Bill, 2021, stressed that the office would not achieve any results in the fight against corruption.
His comments come after the Commissioner of Customs at the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Colonel Kwadwo Damoa (retired), described Mr. Ajiben as a βlittle boyβ for trying to indict him and the Deputy Commissioner of the Ghana Revenue Authority. It was released a few weeks later. His GRA operations in the investigation report on Labianca Company Limited.
Touching on this, the PPP said in a press statement that converting the Office of the Special Prosecutor into the Office of the Attorney General will help fight corruption and earn Mr. Agiben the respect he needs.
βAs a party, we sympathize with Special Prosecutor Kissy Agyebeng. He is competent, but he is in a predicament. To become president, the constitution states that one must be over 40 years old. Mr Oldman, 43, was called a ‘brat’ and the information minister and his communications team were forced to leave behind a fence as the official residence was badly treated and taken away by cleaners. sitting silently on it. Sponsored by OSP bastards,β the statement said in part.
The party added that the 2024 vote will amend Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution, separating the attorney general from the justice minister and allowing the country to fight corruption head-on.
Below is the full statement from PPP
Transfer the office of OSP to the Attorney General
Since 2012, the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has supported a proposal to separate the Attorney General from the Minister of Justice as the only way to win the fight against corruption. The party called for the amendment of Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution.
Until that is completed, the Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP) will not be able to effectively address corruption issues.
As a party, we sympathize with Special Prosecutor Kissi Agiben. Although he is capable, he found himself between a rock and a hard place. The constitution states that a person must be at least 40 years old to become president, but Oldman, 43, has been called a “brat” and the information minister and his communications team have been accused of incompetence and incompetence in the office. , sitting on the fence in silence. He was taken to the cleaners. We infer from the lack of protection that it signifies state-sponsored disrespect for OSP.
We clearly agree with those who support the PPP’s long-standing position of completely separating the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General. He is the attorney general for the people and serves as the Minister of Justice as an advisor to the president. We therefore call for the separation of the two and the transition of OSP to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO).
Unfortunately, the powers of the OSP are subsumed in the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General pursuant to OSP (Act 2017), Act 959 which established the Office. OSP incorporates some of the AG’s powers and has its own problems.
The OSP has been used to carry out propaganda campaign messages solely to deceive Ghanaians into believing that something is being done regarding corruption. This new Attorney General’s Office (AGO) must be budgeted based on a percentage of the national budget. Access to that funding must be enshrined in the constitution.
Everyone from Martin Amidu to Kissi Agyabeng lamented the lack of funds to carry out their mandates. Executive control of institutions established to combat corruption, where political appointees are often the targets of investigation, is not a sound system.
Within the context of the broader narrative, the PPP believes that if it is given the mandate to govern in the 2024 general elections, within three months of coming to power, Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution will be amended and the Attorney General I believe that the Attorney General and Attorney General will be separated. The Minister of Justice enables the nation to fight corruption head-on.
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