The introduction of a Special Prosecutor is a way of tackling bribery and corruption cases head-on
This is probably the most exciting dream I have ever had. So you could imagine my utter disappointment when I suddenly woke up and realised that it was a dream yet to become a reality.
I was, however, disappointed that all the gargantuan stolen monies (over GHC20 billion) which the Special Prosecutor had managed to crawl back from the culprits won’t be added to the emptied national coffers after all. It was a dream on this occasion, but it will surely come to pass.
It was indeed gratifying to witness the Special Prosecutor exerting dint of effort and winning many bribery and corruption cases from 1992 to present.
In any case, I could only take solace in the fact that my dreams more often than not, come to pass.
So, I will keep my fingers cross for the Special Prosecutor to make an appearance.
To me, the arrival of the Special Prosecutor will, arguably, remain the greatest accomplishment of President Akufo-Addo’s administration.
In fact, from 1992 to present, there have been numerous alleged bribery and corruption cases, yet the methods employed by the successive governments in combating the apparent canker had been extremely disappointing, so to speak.
It is for this reason that I have been looking forward to welcoming President Akufo-Addo’s brain child, a Special Prosecutor, who will lawfully retrieve stolen monies from the corrupt public officials.
In my estimation though, the Special Prosecutor could retrieve from the corrupt public servants an excess of billion cedis over the figure which was revealed in the dream.
Yes, the Special Prosecutor will legally go after the greedy politicians and other public servants who have been cited in the Auditor General’s report.
And who says that the suspects and their apologists would not grumble and squall over the Special Prosecutor’s lawful and routine interrogations?
Trust me, the chorus bandwagon will sing along their usual ‘witch-hunting’ rendition.
Didn’t the ‘apple-polishers’ sing the same hymn when Ibrahim Mahama was invited by EOCO to answer questions about an alleged import tax evasion?
Indeed, the apologists tagged the interrogation as political witch-hunting. Nevertheless, it came to light that the brother of former President Mahama, Ibrahim Mahama, had not paid his import taxes since 2015.
Well, I am afraid the chorus bandwagon should brace themselves for more of such routine interrogations in the coming months.
With all due respect, why should anyone be concerned of witch-hunters, if he/she is not a witch?
In other words, if you are not a thief, why be concerned with the presence of the police?
It reminds me of my inquisitive six year old son who once put me on the spot with a question of the existence of witches.
My son posed inquisitorially: “Dad, do witches really exist?”
Upon hearing my son’s seemingly weird question, I became speechless momentarily. I reluctantly broke my silence after a few seconds. I sighed deeply in a desperate attempt to emit my apparent bewilderment.
I proceeded mindfully: “Son, why do you need such information?”
My Son: “Dad, I have been reading about witches and just wondering if they really exist.”
“Well, Son, I have never come across a witch before, but I would like to think since a witch has a taxonomic classification (name), a witch might as well exists”, I retorted.
Pardon me that was just a little digression. I am proceeding with your kind permission.
I have always maintained that Westerners are not less corrupt than their African counterparts. However, what makes the people elsewhere much more responsible than a Ghanaian and Africans as a whole is the rigidity of the state institutions and the effective laws and regulations.
Elsewhere, though, the laws and regulations are strictly enforced, and as such the vast majority of the citizens and denizens prefer the observance to the stringent fines and the harsh punishments.
It is, however, worth emphasising that in as much as the followers have a duty of obligation, it is up to the leadership to bring sanity into the system by strictly ensuring that all laws and regulations are enforced without fear or favour.
To me, the introduction of a Special Prosecutor is a pragmatic way of tackling the rampant bribery and corruption cases head-on.
How sweet would it be if the Special Prosecutor managed to roundup the conspiratorial plotters in Woyome’s dubious judgement debt payment for instance?
Moreover, it would be a great news if the Special Prosecutor managed to crawl back all the embezzled monies in the scandalous corruption cases involving the infamous Bus Branding, Brazil World Cup, GYEEDA, AZONTABA, SADA, SUBAH, the purported $200million debt incurred on the faded STS housing deal, the dubious Embraer 190 Aircrafts and hanger for the Ghana Armed Forces and over a US$100 million oil revenue loss between 2011 and 2013 as reported by the Public Interest& Accountability Committee.
Isn’t it somewhat refreshing that the justice system is going to descend heavily not only on goat, cassava and plantain thieves, but the hard criminals who hide behind narrow political colorations as well?
To me, a fantastically corrupt public servant is no less a human rights violator than the weirdo Adolf Hitler.
Whilst the enigmatic Adolf Hitler barbarically annihilated innocent people with lethal chemicals and sophisticated weapons, a contemporary corrupt public servant is blissfully bent on annihilating innocent citizens through wanton bribery and corruption.
Consequently, the innocent citizens would often end up facing economic hardships, starvation, depression, emotional labour and squalor which send them to their early grave.
It would, however, appear that the political criminals have the licence to steal. And, if that was not the case, how come the offending politicians and their minions often go scot free?
Tell me, if the bribery and corruption; dubious judgment debt payments; stashing of national funds by some greedy opportunists and misappropriation of resources and crude embezzlement by some politicians do not warrant criminal charges, then where are we heading as a nation?
How on earth can individuals commit unpardonable crimes (gargantuan sleaze and corruptions) against the state and get away with their misdeeds?
In any case, the all-important question the discerning Ghanaians should ask is: will the day come when “Ghana’s political criminals” find they have nowhere to hide?
In sum, it is our fervent hope that the work of the Special Prosecutor will duly circumscribe the existential bribery and corruption cases that have stunted our development.
