Amidu won't make any difference in corruption fight - Felix Kwakye Ofosu

A former Deputy Minister for Communication, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has downplayed the appointment of Martin Amidu as Special Prosecutor.

“I do not believe that it is necessarily a brilliant choice and that it is going to make any dramatic difference to the fight against corruption,” he told Jonas Ofori Yeboah on Class FM’s 505 news programme shortly after the announcement by President Nana Akufo-Addo on Thursday, January 11.

The Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo, nominated Mr Amidu and his nomination was accepted by Nana Akufo-Addo. Mr Amidu will carry out the responsibility of independently fighting corruption.

He will have the full authority to initiate investigations into all suspected corruption-related offences of all persons in public service.

However, Mr Ofosu Kwakye stated: “I do not believe that there is anything special about Special Prosecutor’s Office. Indeed, I dare say that it is a special waste of time and resources given that there is absolutely nothing that this Special Prosecutors Office will do that existing state institutions like the Attorney General’s Office could not do or could not have done.”

He said he has heard that the Special Prosecutor’s Office will have powers of investigation but he is “not convinced that this new creation will overnight acquire better investigative skills than the Ghana Police Service, the Police CID, the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) and National Security as well as other intelligence institutions that we have”.

For him, Mr Amidu will still depend on existing state institution that carry out similar mandate hence the Special Prosecutor’s Office is just duplication of roles.

Mr Ofosu Kwakye further noted that beyond the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government saying that the appointment is a fulfilment of a campaign promise, he does not see any incentive that the creation of the office will bring to the fight against corruption.