The presidential candidate of the People’s National Convention (PNC) for the November polls , Dr. Edward Nasigri Mahama, has promised to separate the offices of the Attorney General (AG) and the Ministry of Justice in his bid to fight corruption, should he be elected president.
According to Dr. Mahama, if the two entities are split up, it will enable the Attorney General pursue everyone, including government officials, believed to be involved corrupt activities.
“We shall decouple the offices of the Attorney General (AG) and the Justice Ministry and make the AG the director of public prosecution,” he said at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) evening encounter on Tuesday.
The position is currently occupied by Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong who has been in office since she was appointed by President John Mahama in 2013.
The dual-position has proved to be an extremely contentious issue with critics suggesting that with the AG’s office under the authority of the president, it’s work is compromised by the threat of dismissal constantly over their heads.
Dr. Mahama believes that not enough had been done by the current administration and previous administrations to tackle corruption in the country.
According to him, “there needs to be leadership by example to deal with corruption. The problem with corruption is that there is no real desire at the top to solve it.”
The PNC flagbearer also stated that under his administration, all state officials would be mandated to declare their state assets.
“PNC will mandate all public service officers to fully declare and publish their assets. We’ll also ensure that directors of State Owned Enterprises will be criminally prosecuted for financial malfeasance”
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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana