When Ghana’s first Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, faced enormous challenges in his quest to fight corruption under the Akufo-Addo government, government officials and members of the ruling party made it appear as if he was the problem and not the government.
Mr. Amidu had a lot of issues with the government following which he boldly referred to the President as the ‘mother serpent of corruption”, finally leading to his sudden resignation.
The young respected lawyer, Kissi Agyebeng, eventually took over the office a little over a year ago, after his swearing in ceremony on August 5, 2021.
Although he was poised for action with a pledge to deal with the canker head-on, he now appears to be singing his predecessor’s tune.
The hindrances range from poor funding to the office and non-payment of staff salaries.
The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, in a presentation on Joy FM’s News File on Saturday, December 31, 2022, expressed doubt about the country’s readiness to fight the canker.
“Are we ready for the fight against corruption?, from where I sit, I don’t think we are. We expect so much from the institutions fighting corruption, but collectively, are we ready?” he asked.
Mr. Agyebeng explained that he is compelled to ask this question because many people who witness corruption are afraid to report.
“A good measure of the reason why I say we are not ready yet, is that more than 60% of persons fear retaliation if they report corruption. And it is very dire. Even law enforcement agencies, even the Office of the Special prosecutor, even the Special Prosecutor himself is not spared this specter of push back retaliation, and that is why i situate it in the question I asked that are we ready. Everyone should ask themselves,” he stated.
He however believes that with the right attitude, corruption will reduce drastically.
“On the part of anti-corruption institutions, and by this I am referring to the flagship agencies, Office of the Special Prosecutor, CHRAJ, EOCO and other anti-corruption agencies. Are we really doing what the republic has tasked us to do or we are engaging in our own predilections? We have done much in collaboration, in forging ahead together, in fighting corruption, but is there more we can do, I believe we can do more, we can win the fight against corruption. So I charge the anti-corruption agencies, let us do so. Let us not disappoint Ghana,” Mr. Agyebeng said.
Mr. Agyebeng also asked, “on the part of the government, is the government ready. I have not seen much commitment. Let us see that commitment, but from where I sit, I do not see it”he noted.
