The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations on the Office of the Special Prosecutor is upset with Parliament for reportedly disregarding their proposals on the appointment of an independent prosecutor for the office.
They said “we remain disappointed in the decision by Parliament to disregard our proposal for open and competitive appointment of the Special Prosecutor.”
[contextly_sidebar id=”WILiqr5g19xwc6kC6URYcONennKXGRB3”]The Coalition comprises the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) and Parliamentary News Africa (PNAfrica).
They have been at the forefront of the consultations and citizen engagements in the run up to the passage of the Bill.
Though it welcomes the new legislation as one which “provides an impetus for the fight against corruption”, the Coalition says it will “closely monitor the establishment of the Office and the appointment of the Officers.”
Parliament passed the Bill last week amidst high public expectations for a robust tool in the fight against corruption.
While Civil Society describes the enactment as “a bold step”, Ranking Member on Parliament’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Inusah Fuseini, also said the Bill was “a demonstration of our commitment towards establishing institutions of State that will fight corruption and corruption-related offenses.”
The Special Prosecutor Office was a key promise of the Nana Akufo-Addo 2016 Campaign, and the Office is expected to independently investigate and prosecute corruption and corruption-related offenses among public officials.
It will also be empowered to recover monies from corrupt practices. For this reason, the Coalition insists the appointment processes for the Office must be open and transparent.
Whilst it congratulates Parliament on passing the Independent Prosecutor Bill, the group also urged Parliament to “give similar attention and urgency to the passage of the outstanding anti-corruption Bills, the Conduct of the Public Officers Bill, Right to Information Bill, and the Witness Protection and Whistle Blower Amendment Bills, which are relevant to the work of the Special Prosecutor.”
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By: Sixtus Dong Ullu/citifmonline.com/Ghana