Parliament of Ghana
Parliament finally passed the Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill after its third reading in a marathon sitting yesterday.
The government was racing against time to have the bill passed ahead of the reading of the 2018 Budget statement today to make for budgetary allocation.
With the passage of the bill out of the way, government is now free to appoint an independent prosecutor and more importantly, allocate resources for the office.
The bill was passed amid debate over whether the Special Prosecutor should be immune from prosecution.
The setting up of the office was one of the key campaign promises made by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ahead of his electoral victory in 2016; and it is aimed at tackling corruption.
When operational, the Special Prosecutor’s office will be independent of the Executive, which observers believe will allow it to adequately deal with corruption-related issues which have plagued past governments.
This bill is expected to, among other things, define the modalities for the appointment and operations of the Special Prosecutor.
Inusah Fuseini, a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who had initially opposed the bill, told Citi Fm, after its passing, that it was now awaiting President Nana Akufo-Addo’s assent.
“What has happened tonight is a demonstration of our commitment towards establishing institutions of state that will fight corruption and corruption-related offences.”
Mr. Fuseini said the bill was intended to be passed yesterday [Tuesday] “so that it can find space in [the 2018] budget,” which will be read on Wednesday.
The bill appears to have been passed with little fuss by the minority, despite earlier rejection.
Over 30 amendments were made to the bill that would give power to a new independent prosecutor who would be tasked with the responsibility of prosecuting past and present public officers deemed to have been corrupt.
Chief among the controversial amendments is the decision to free the independent prosecutor from any form of prosecution.