SP Appointment: We almost lost hope in Akufo-Addo’s anti-corruption fight – CDD

The Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) says their hopes in President Akufo-Addo’s commitment to fighting corruption has been rekindled following the appointment of the Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu.

According to CDD, the appointment of Martin Amidu has paved the way for robust action against graft in public institutions.

Speaking at a public discussion on the assessment of President Akufo-Addo’s one year in office, the Executive Director of CDD, Prof. Emmanuel Gyimah Boadi said although the new move is a great feat, the actions of the current government officials leaves much to be desired about governments overall anti-corruption fight.

“We continue to suffer offensive public display of power…until yesterday, in my view, credible actions to curb corruption and address other governance challenges lagged behind. Yesterday’s nomination of Mr. Amidu for the Special Prosecutor’s position has rekindled my hope that Nana Addo means business when he talks about combating corruption. I say so because of Mr. Amidu’s pedigree, his track record of anti-corruption and public interest litigation, his courage, his independent-mindedness, his tenacity- all the attributes you’ll need for a job like that.”

President Akufo-Addo on Thursday evening named the former Attorney General as the Special Prosecutor subject to Parliamentary approval.

This comes after President Akufo-Addo assented to five Acts including that of the Special Prosecutor on January 2, 2017, which were passed by Parliament last year.

Parliament passed the Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill in November last year, which allows for the establishment of an independent anti-corruption institution to deal with public officials who have been deemed or found liable to corrupt dealings.

The law now gives power to the new independent prosecutor who’s tasked with the responsibility of prosecuting past and present public officers deemed to have been corrupt.