No Mercy For Corrupt Public Officials – Osafo Maafo

The Akufo-Addo administration has reiterated its resolve to do everything possible to prosecute and punish people in the public sector who engage in corrupt activities to the detriment of the state.

Government has admitted that Ghanaians are increasingly becoming impatient with the seeming delay in prosecuting suspected corrupt officials.

Speaking at the launch of the National Anti-corruption and Transparency Week in Accra on Monday, Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo, said government is thoroughly investigating to inform the prosecution officials believed to have engaged in acts of corruption. 

He said no corrupt person will be spared, but will be dealt with according to the laws of the land.

“We are certainly going to make people who have wronged this country through corruption suffer for their deeds, but we don’t want to do this in a hurry. We must do a thorough investigation. We should not do things in such a way to seem as if we are after our political opponents,” the Senior Minister said.

“We must do it in such a way that people who have wronged the system are identified through thorough investigation, and made to answer for their crimes. We have the laws of this land, and we must use it not to punish anybody because of being an opponent, but to punish people because they have been corrupt in the system. So investigations are still going on, very soon, the results will be out for every Ghanaian to hear and see,” he assured.

Office of Special Prosecutor approved by Parliament

Parliament on November 4, 2017, passed the Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill to help government fight corruption.

The setting up of the office was one of the key campaign promises made by President Nana Akufo-Addo ahead of his election victory in 2016, and it is aimed at tackling corruption.

When operational, the Special Prosecutor’s office will be independent of the Executive, which observers believe will allow it to adequately deal with corruption-related issues which have plagued past governments.