An Anti-Corruption crusader, Vitus Azeem has expressed his displeasure at the half-year report released by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
The Office of Special Prosecutor revealed in its report that it was investigating over 120 corruption-related cases in the country.
This includes the alleged bribery by Airbus SE, a European multinational aerospace corporation, in respect of the sale and purchase of military aircraft for the Republic of Ghana, the banking and financial sector crisis, and allegations of attempted bribery of Members of Parliament by an unnamed wealthy businessman.
“The Office has commenced investigation into allegations of an attempt by an unnamed and wealthy businessman to bribe some members of the majority caucus of Parliament. The Office has triggered a liaison with the office of the Speaker of Parliament in this regard,” the report said.
The second half-yearly report under the tenure of the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, was done in pursuance of section 3(3) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959).
But Vitus Azeem says the Special Prosecutor could have done much better in the fight against corruption.
“The list of results looks impressive but, I would have expected more results than what he [Special Prosecutor] has presented. For example, we will be looking at a number of some successful investigations, successful prosecutions and amount of monies that have been recovered from,” the Anti-Corruption crusader stated.
The OSP added that it has commenced investigation into suspected corruption and corruption-related offences in respect of the termination of a “Distribution, Loss Reduction and Associated Network Improvement Project contract between the Electricity Company of Ghana Limited and Beijing Xiao Cheng Technology (BXC)”.
“This report offers an insight into the corruption cases investigated and prosecuted by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the highlights of activities undertaken by the Office between 1 August 2022 and 31 December 2022. Notwithstanding continuous debilitating financial and material constraints and the non issuance of its establishment budget, the OSP has performed its fourfold functions of investigating, prosecuting, asset recovering and preventing corruption and corruption-related offences commendably. The impact of the operations of the OSP resonates in all provinces of life.
“We are conscious of the practical consideration that we cannot snuff out corruption. There is force in that reckoning. However, as we apply well-structured systems, technology and intelligence-lednoperations, we are rendering corruption a highly risky enterprise for the criminally minded. As we firm up the drive against corruption and our message is registered strongly in the minds of people that sooner or later they will be arrested, prosecuted and their assets seized and confiscated to the state, the incidence of corruption will surely decline. This will restore confidence, promote the rule of law, and assure fairness and justice,” the report said.