AG presents draft copy of Special Prosecutor bill to stakeholders

Attorney General and Minister of Justice Gloria Akuffo, on Tuesday 27 June, 2017, presented the first draft of the Office of Special Prosecutor bill to stakeholders at a meeting in Accra.

She stated that the Office of the Special Prosecutor is to effectively investigate and prosecute specific cases of corruption.

Ms Akuffo sought for honest and sincere views on the draft bill before it is laid before parliament later in the year.

The Attorney General explained that the stakeholder meeting was called because government recognised that the fight against corruption was not the sole prerogative or the responsibility of any one individual.

She said the office will have full authority to start investigations and finish prosecution of officials deemed to have engaged in corruption.

Addressing stakeholders, Ms Akuffo said: “Government proposes to establish by an act of parliament the Office of the Special Prosecutor to effectively investigate and expeditiously prosecute specific cases of corruption involving influential public figures and accomplices.

“The development and passage of the bill will provide the legal framework for the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor vested with full authority and control over the initiation and conduct of proceedings of corruption cases involving political office holders and high-ranking government officials devoid of political interference or micro management is a top legislative priority of government.

“It is our belief that the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor though not a complete or total remedy for the menace of corruption facing our country would be a major step towards strengthening the anti-corruption regime in this country and thereby substantially reduce the canker, if not eliminate it.

“As proposed in the draft bill, the Office of the Special Prosecutor will have the mandate to investigate and prosecute cases of alleged corruption under the Public Procurement Act 2003 Act 663 and other corruption-related offences implicating public officers, political office holders, and their accomplices in the public sector as well as trace and recover the proceeds of corruption.

“We believe that the establishment of a dedicated anti-corruption office vested with investigating prosecutorial and asset recovery authority will result in an improved execution of our anti-corruption effort rather than a continued reliance on multi-purpose or mixed mandate agencies.”

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