Chairperson of the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption, Daniel Batidam, says plans by the incoming government to establish an Independent Prosecutor’s office may clash with the Constitution.
Mr Batidam, who is President John Mahama’s advisor on corruption and governance says the proposal by president-elect Nana Akufo-Addo could face implementation challenges and instead work against the fight against corruption.
“Before anybody thinks of creating another office they must bear in mind that the Constitution has prescribed who has the authority to do criminal prosecutions – and that is the Attorney-General,” he said on current affairs programme, PM Express on Wednesday.
The president-elect has as part of his incoming government’s crusade against institutional corruption, he will establish the independent prosecutor’s office to deal with the problem in his administration.
Nana Akufo-Addo explains the initiative is key to removing political influence in the fight against the increasing cases of institutional corruption plagues Ghana's public offices.
He told the BBC the independent prosecutor would be better placed to avoid politically-motivated criminal prosecution of members of the previous governments. However, Daniel Batidam thinks establishing the new office would prove an administrative superfluity. “Article 88 is clear about the powers of the Attorney-General and I am not aware of any other body or person that can exercise those powers without touching the constitution,” he avers.
These powers, he contends, includes initiating criminal prosecution against government officials. He suggests that instead of expending his effort to set up the new office, Nana Akufo-Addo should decouple the Attorney-General’s office from Ministry of Justice. The Attorney-General can the be made independent, because after all "independent is an English word," he said.
The creation of a new office with a fancy name would not guarantee that the fight against corruption would be successful, he suggests. He backs his point further with the success made by citizen vigilante and
former Attorney-General, Martin Amidu, in single-handedly securing a Supreme Court verdict ordering businessman, Alfred Woyome, to return to the state the GHC51 million judgement debt he unlawfully obtained.
Martin Amidu achieved his feat without being in government, he said, buttressing his point that existing institutions are enough to fight corruption. “Is the vigilante an office? He is not an office. So I think that the institutions are there,” he stressed.
CHRAJ, which is the key anti-corruption institution, can be empowered and resourced to do its work, he told show host Nana Ansah Kwao IV. “There a lot of laws that have not yet been activated...If you take the Constitutional Review Implementation Committee..it has made a lot of provisions that relate to laws for fighting corruption, including asset declaration regime to make it tighter,” he defends his position.
The existing law is a “mockery of an asset declaration law," he said.
Mr Batidam also says the incoming administration should work towards managing the expectation of some members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the public who believe persons involved in corruption scandals in the outgoing administration would be jailed when Nana Akufo-Addo takes the reins of government on January 7, 2016.
“Ghana is in a rule of law dispensation,” he said.
Source: myjoyonline.com
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Interesting thought, after serving the most corrupt president in Ghana's history, please starting packing be ready to testify in court
this man lost all not some of his credibility when the case of ford gift came into being.Mr. man you are a complete failure when it comes to fighting corruption
Mr. Batidam, let's analyze some of the things you mentioned. You claim there are enough ant-corruption institutions and anti-corruption activists so we don't need the independent prosecutor's office. If these tools were efficient in fighting corruption, I don't think there will be revelations of graft, bribery, overpricing of projects and award of contracts without tender on a massive scale. Ghana has been fleeced for a long time with the active collusion of government appointed officials in institutions which are supposed to have a high reputation for fighting corruption. Your office did very little in this fight, and I know sooner or later, you will be embarrassed by the revelations of corruption and incompetence characteristic of Mahama administration. It is fair therefore to give the new government a chance to use a novel idea to tackle this social canker. Judging by the position you hold, and the extent of economic mismanagment resulting in widespread poverty, you have failed as an advisor to the president. Your views by the way, wont change anything.
Dumb argument. Keep on seeing the impossibilities. This guy knows how his people will be affected so he is talking about impossibilities, keep on dreaming Batidam!
Mr. Batidam, you failed miserably as an anti-curroption crusader when your last appointment exposed your partisanship and credibility. Your efforts in the view of most people only enabled the very thing you were supposed to stand for. For your own face saving please stop the noise. You an anti-corruption advocate sided with corrupt acts and activities, perceived or real and unfortunately were seen to be making apologies for palpably bad acts and corrupt behaviours. Please rethink. Enough damage has been done to the anti-corruption movement with your advocacy and advisory role in the last few years. You were given a great opportunity to make a difference and in my book, you failed. Please reflect and stop damaging the movement any further.
What are guys afraid of?
Afraid of JAIL term for the CREATE, LOOT & SHARE enterprise members. WAIT, IT WILL SURELY COME. WICKED MEN.
Where are the holes? Very misleading headline that seeks to give the Batidam some level of reasoned argument. But nothing in his argument.
We deliberately voted Nana Addo into office to deal with the criminals. If you fear prosecution bring all the monies you have tollllen. Where is Ibrahim mahama?
You lost your credibility long time ago.. Please ***barred word***