I was disturbed about what Speaker said about the OSP - Domelevo

Former Auditor General, Daniel Yao Domelevo, has commented on the concerns raised by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, about the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

He stated that he was disturbed by the Speaker’s comment about the office set up to fight corruption in Ghana.

Domelevo added that since the office was set up six years ago, it has been reduced to an investigative office despite the prosecutorial powers granted to it in the Special Prosecutor’s Act 2007 (Act 959).

Expressing his dismay, Domelevo questioned the distinctiveness of the OSP, compared to other anti-corruption institutions such as the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).

He emphasised the need for clarity on the OSP's role and autonomy.

“When I heard what the Speaker had to say about the OSP, I was disturbed because I asked, so if it is an exercise in futility, which means that it is useless, then where are we headed? And after that, I started a bit of research so I read the law, and what I found under Section 4, sub-section (II), to me is very disturbing. It reads: subject to Clause 4 of Article 88 of the Constitution, the Office shall for the purpose of this Act, be authorised by the Attorney General to initiate and conduct the prosecution of corruption and corruption-related cases, which means that the Office is not as independent as we were made to believe, so the mandate still rests with the Attorney General.

“So, the question which came to my mind is, how different is this office from EOCO and maybe CHRAJ and other institutions? So it's really sad,” Domelevo said.

While he held a modest optimism for the office, he said he believes that certain measures undertaken by the agency could act as a deterrent to individuals engaged in corruption.

However, he acknowledged that these actions alone would not be sufficient to effectively combat the pervasive issue.

“But et me also say that the effect of what the OSP and for that matter, any of the anti-corruption offices are doing may not result in prosecution and conviction as expected by Ghanaians. But the mere investigation itself even brings about some deterrence. Imagine seizing your assets and going to court to go and confirm it so that they can do their investigation and this is in the public domain; that alone brings some deterrence but I don't think it is good enough for us,” he stated.

He disagreed with the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng’s assertion that the courts were not only impeding his investigations but also hindering his prosecution endeavours.

“I don’t think so because if he is going to implement the law, then he must also make sure he operates within the law. You cannot go outside of the law and say that you’re using the same law. I heard of how he went to court on Cecilia Dapaah’s case, and the court said you didn’t come on time. That one, I can’t fault the court for it. And I think in almost all the cases which he cited, I think the legal basis given by the courts seems to be sound, so I don’t think it is frustrating.

“He may not get what he wants, but it’s too early for him to be frustrated because I think that even if all the judges are not interested in fighting corruption, we may have some of them who may be interested; and if they’re correcting you…Remember when I was Auditor General I disallowed and surcharged some people; they went to court and they won the cases, and I was not disturbed by that because, to the best of my knowledge, I was doing my work and the courts were also doing their work. So he [Special Prosecutor] should do his work as a prosecutor and allow the court also to do its work. But I think it’s too early for us to conclude that it is frustrating him” he added.

What the Speaker said about the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP)

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, labelled the OSP as an "office in futility" during a parliamentary address on Tuesday, December 12, 2023.

The Speaker emphasised his belief that the OSP would not yield tangible results in the ongoing battle against corruption.

He maintained that the Attorney General's department should be decoupled from the Ministry of Justice for more effective governance.

"As for the law you passed on the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor, I did tell you that it was an act in futility, you were not going to achieve anything but you went ahead and passed it."

He further expressed his stance, saying, "I have no problem with the AG being a minister; I am only saying that you separate [it] from the Minister of Justice," he said

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