Parliament has approved a little over 180 million Ghana cedis to the office of the Special Prosecutor amidst claims there is a seeming clash of egos between that office and the Attorney General’s Department.
The NDC MP for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, has averred that there is a clash of egos between the Special Prosecutor and the Attorney General.
According to the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, the required synergy needed to execute the critical mandates of the two critical offices of state is lacking.
Contributing to deliberations on the budget estimates for the Special Prosecutor, Inusah Fuseini called for enhanced collaboration between the two offices.
The former Minister of Lands and Natural Resources explained that little can be achieved in the quest to develop the country if there still exists some frosty relationship between the two offices.
“In the committee meeting and our engagement with the special prosecutor, we saw that there appeared to be a clash of personalities arriving out of ego between the special prosecutor and the Attorney General’s office. We cannot achieve our intended purposes if we work in silos….but we expect that the Attorney General’s office will collaborate with the special prosecutor for the effective performance of his functions.”
In November this year, during the 2018 budget statement presented by the Finance Minister, Mr. Ken Ofori Atta, Government allocated an amount of Ghc 180 million to the Office of the Special Prosecutor to function effectively.
According to Finance Minister, the money is to assist the Office of the Special Prosecutor in the fight against corruption in the country.
Ken Ofori-Atta said the Special Prosecutor’s Office is one of the highest priorities of government, and that aside from the allocation, government will in the course of next year provide more resources for the Special Prosecutor to perform his duties without hitches.
“In line with Government’s promise to protect the public purse, His Excellency the President remains committed to the fight against corruption. In this budget, the Special Prosecutor’s Office has been allocated an amount of GH¢180 million from GoG with a commitment to provide additional resources during the course of 2019 to enable the Special Prosecutor’s Office to carry out its mandate.”
Since the swearing in of Martin Amidu as Special Prosecutor in March 2018, he has complained about the non-allocation of funds to his office – a situation he said was hampering his ability to deliver.
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Source: Citinewsroom.com
