OSP remains key to fighting corruption independently – Dr. Osae-Kwapong

By Hubeyidatu Mumuni 

Democracy and Development Fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Dr John Osae-Kwapong, has defended the continued existence of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), describing it as an important institution for tackling corruption independently in Ghana.

Speaking on Joy News’ Newsfile, Dr Osae-Kwapong said civil society organisations had been concerned about attempts to abolish the OSP and legal challenges to its existence, stressing that the office provides an alternative to the limitations of the Attorney-General in prosecuting corruption cases.

He said one of the major concerns was whether an Attorney-General could effectively prosecute corruption allegations involving members of the same political party or government.

“Part of my struggle was always the question I would ask: For everything we keep saying about the limitations of an Attorney-General to be able to prosecute corruption cases, especially as it relates to in-regime accountability, if the OSP is not the answer to deal with that, then what is the answer?” he asked.

Dr Osae-Kwapong said he was therefore pleased that the legal challenges had been resolved in a manner that preserved the OSP as an independent institution dedicated to fighting corruption.

He argued that Ghana’s experience under the Fourth Republic had largely resulted in accountability efforts being pursued after a change in government, rather than while alleged misconduct was taking place.

“If the Office of the Special Prosecutor is not the answer to independently fighting corruption, then what is the answer?” he questioned.

According to him, civil society’s strong support for the OSP is largely driven by the need to break the cycle where accountability is pursued mainly after elections.

“Because the pattern that we have seen generally tends to be post-regime accountability. We always have to count on a change of election to generally be able to make attempts to even hold people accountable while they were in office,” he said.

Dr Osae-Kwapong maintained that an institution such as the OSP could help address that challenge by investigating and prosecuting corruption allegations without having to wait for a change in government.

He also touched on the ongoing controversy surrounding the AKSA Energy scandal, following the conviction of former Goldman Sachs banker Asante Berko in the United States.

He said the conviction had triggered legitimate public interest in what action would be taken in Ghana, particularly to protect the integrity of the country’s institutions and public contracting processes.

“Once the conviction in the US court was made public, there was really a public outcry and a call for, well, what happens on our end?” he said.

Dr Osae-Kwapong noted that although the United States had dealt with the matter under its own laws, Ghana also had a responsibility to determine whether any wrongdoing occurred within its jurisdiction.

“It is up to us to also decide what we want to do about it to protect the integrity of our institutions, the integrity of parliamentary processes, contracting, all of those things,” he added.

He further welcomed the OSP’s indication that it had identified persons of interest in connection with the matter, stressing that being identified as a person of interest did not amount to a declaration of guilt.

“I know that the Special Prosecutor has come out to say he has identified certain persons of interest. I am assuming that it’s an investigation that will take time, and at this stage of the investigation, he’s not pronouncing guilt on these persons,” Dr Osae-Kwapong explained.

He said such individuals could either possess relevant information or require further scrutiny to establish what role, if any, they played in the matter.

Dr Osae-Kwapong urged that the investigation be allowed to proceed while ensuring that due process and the rights of persons involved were respected.