The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta has justified the GHC180 million allocated to the office of the Special Prosecutor.
According to him, the government is interested in plugging financial leakages in the public sector, hence the need to fully resource the office of the special prosecutor.
Speaking at a post-budget workshop in the Eastern region, Mr. Ofori Atta said a major focus of the office will be to aggressively deal with corruption.“An area we are going to need real help with, is the issue of domestic revenue mobilization, which means what do we do with Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in a much more positive and aggressive way with property taxes and what do we do with corruption and leakages and that is why we have put in so much money behind Martin Amidu,” he said.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, on Thursday during the presentation of the 2019 budget, announced that GH¢180 million has been allocated to the Special Prosecutor’s Office to be used to resource the office and strengthen the fight corruption.
Ken Ofori-Atta said the Special Prosecutor’s Office is one of the priorities of the government, and that aside from the allocation, the government will in the course of next year provide more resources for the Special Prosecutor to perform his duties without hitches.
Since the swearing in of Martin Amidu as Special Prosecutor in March 2018, he has complained bitterly about the lack of resources, a situation he said was hampering his ability to deliver.
He also warned that the office will not be able to fully discharge its duties if the situation was not addressed as soon as possible.
In October, the government provided a bigger work-space for the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
The two-storey building which is close to the International Press Center on the Gamel Abdul Nasser Avenue at Ridge needs a few renovation works.
A tour of the building by Citi News showed broken windows and parts of the compound overgrown with weeds, with cobwebs everywhere and the floors covered in dust.
Engineers from the Architecture And Engineering Services Limited (AESL) who visited the site said it would take six months to complete rehabilitation works.
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By: Farida Yusif | citinewsroom.com | Ghana
The post Ghc 180m allocated to Special Prosecutor’s office to plug leakages – Ofori Atta appeared first on Citi Newsroom.
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