The Director of Policy Engagement and Partnerships at CDD-Ghana, Dr. Kojo Asante, has called for the establishment of an independent public prosecutor with constitutional backing to strengthen Ghana’s fight against corruption and ensure the independent prosecution of public officials accused of corruption.
Speaking on the country’s anti-corruption architecture, Dr. Asante argued that the current arrangement, where the Attorney General serves as a member of Cabinet while also acting as the chief prosecutor, raises concerns about the independence of corruption-related prosecutions.
According to him, public confidence in the existing system has waned after more than three decades under the current constitutional arrangement, making reforms necessary to guarantee impartial accountability.
“The people are also very clear that on this particular issue of having an independent office that prosecutes corruption involving publicly exposed persons, they don’t believe that an Attorney General who sits in Cabinet with his colleagues and is an appointee of the government can do that independently. We’ve had 30 years of that arrangement, and I think we can all come to a judgment on that.”
Dr. Asante noted that calls for an independent anti-corruption prosecutor are not new, recalling that the issue had been raised as far back as Ghana’s African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) assessment in 2004.
He said the country has had ample time to reflect on the proposal and should now move beyond discussions to implementing lasting constitutional reforms.
“For me, this matter was resolved from the APRM time in 2004, and we’ve had many years to reflect on this. The people are quite clear. So I see the long-term resolution of this as looking at our Constitution and making sure that we elevate the whole issue of anti-corruption and an independent public prosecutor, or a public prosecutor who is dealing with anti-corruption, into the Constitution so that it is protected.”
Dr. Asante maintained that entrenching an independent anti-corruption prosecutor in the Constitution would safeguard the office from political interference, strengthen public trust in the justice system and reinforce Ghana’s commitment to fighting corruption.
Source: Newspyramid.com
