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A member of the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) says the circumstances surrounding Martin Amidu’s resignation show that the country has lost the fight against corruption.
According to him, the failure of the president to fully guarantee the independence and freedom of the Special Prosecutor’s Office undermines Ghana’s anti-corruption campaign.
Speaking on Accra-based radio station Asempa FM on Tuesday, the University of Florida professor noted that until corrections are made to the system to protect those involved in the anti-corruption crusade, the fight against corruption will continue. being retrograde.
“I don’t think we are advancing, but regressing. I want to change the claim that corruption fights back those who challenge it, because there is no fight. Corruption has won, ”he said.
Mr. Amidu’s decision to resign as Special Prosecutor, which appears in his letter to President Akufo-Addo on Monday, borders on political interference and the lack of freedom in the fulfillment of his constitutional responsibilities, which he described as a “traumatic experience” .
“When conducting the corruption prevention risk analysis and anti-corruption assessment, I sincerely believed that I was executing an independent mandate from the Special Prosecutor’s Office, Law of 2017 (Law 959) and the Special Prosecutor’s Office (Operations), 2018 (LI 2374) .
“The reaction I received for daring to produce Agyapa Royalties Limited Transactions’ anti-corruption report convinces me beyond any reasonable doubt that I did not intend to exercise any independence as a Special Prosecutor in the prevention, investigation, prosecution and recovery of assets from corruption. Consequently, my position as Special Prosecutor has clearly become untenable. “
But Professor Asare believes that the now-former special counsel faced these challenges because the Akufo-Addo government only created the Office to obtain political scores.
“I feel like most of the time they are interested in checking boxes to show as a sign of fulfilling the promises of the manifesto, but there is no real commitment. So thus, they created the Special Prosecutor’s Office, without the adequate equipment to facilitate effective work, ”he said.
