OSP-AG tensions risk weakening accountability efforts

Ghana’s anti-corruption framework risks losing public confidence amid ongoing legal and institutional tensions surrounding the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), a civil society group has warned.

Samuel Harrison-Cudjoe, Programmes Manager at the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, said recent developments involving the OSP and the Attorney-General’s office are sending troubling signals to citizens.

“We have always thought that let’s work at it if we have challenges…so for us the challenges do not mean we should throw the office away. but it is a signaling to citizens and that is where the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition we are getting more concerned because the signals it sends out there isn’t pretty,” he said on Asaase Radio’s The Forum programme Saturday.

Public trust

His comments follow heightened debate over the role and authority of the OSP after a High Court ruling questioned its prosecutorial powers.

Harrison-Cudjoe said public expectations for an independent anti-corruption body had grown over time, but current tensions risk eroding that trust.

“Last year, around October the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition met communities talking about the OSP and the fight against corruption and it was evident that citizens wanted someone who could hold everybody accountable…but with what is happening now i fear it is sending the wrong signals to Ghanaian citizens,” he said.

Caution

He warned that uncertainty surrounding the OSP’s mandate could weaken confidence in Ghana’s broader anti-corruption architecture.

“We are creating uncertainty and doubts in the minds of Ghanaian citizens when it comes to the anti-corruption architecture,” he said.

He added that ongoing friction between the OSP and the Attorney-General’s office risks creating perceptions of political interference.

“It has taken some time for Ghanaians to come to the agreement about having someone who could hold everybody into account if they went wrong but now that we have this kind of push-pull thing between the OSP and the AG, it is sending a signal of uncertainty and what that signal does is to weaken people’s confidence in the anti-corruption architecture,” he said.

“We are creating the perception of political influence around this and citizens begin to sit and wait,” he added.

Source: Asaase Radio: https://asaaseradio.com/osp-ag-tensions-risk-weakening-accountability-efforts-gacc/

Mr. Solomon Nyankah

Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

Solomon Nyankah is the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at the GACC. He is a hard-working, self-starter, team player, dedicated, and results-oriented person committed to rendering effective service to any organisation through continuous learning and self-development for the benefit of the organisation and society. He possesses excellent interpersonal, data collection, and management skills. Solomon is proficient in the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel).

Prior to his appointment at GACC, Solomon worked with the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) as a technical planning analyst in the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Division. He joined the NDPC from 2017 to 2023. His duties included coordinating the preparation of the national Annual Progress Reports (APRs) from 2017 to 2022; the President's Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies (CPESDP) 2021–2024, and the National Medium Term Development Policy Framework (NMTDPF) for 2018–2021 and 2022–2025. He also provided technical assistance in the preparation of the National Development Monitor; the SDG Voluntary National Review Reports (2019 and 2022; sector and district development plans and progress reports; and the mid-term evaluation of the medium-term National Development Policy Framework, "Agenda for Jobs, Creating Prosperity and Equal Opportunity for All, 2018 -2021". Solomon provided technical backstopping for district planning officers on participatory M&E; served as a national trainer on the District Development Data Platform (DDDP) for all regional economic planners, district planning officers, and MIS/statisticians in Ghana; and was a resource pe rson for an ECOWAS sensitization workshop on ECOWAS Protocols held in the Central Region. He also facilitated the mainstreaming of integrated social services indicators into district plans.

Solomon Nyankah holds a B.Sc. degree in Development Management from the University for Development Studies. Other training certificates include: Integrated Planning and Reporting Toolkit (IPRT) by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); SDG Toolkits Integration, Monitoring, and Evaluation; and Data Visualisation and Advanced Data Visualisation (Tableau and Canvas) by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ)

The Parliament of the Republic of Ghana in accordance with the provisions of the Fourth Republican Constitution in October 1993 enacted the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice Act (Act 456), to establish the Commission.

The commission seeks to foster a culture of respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms, as well as administrative justice and fairness in Ghanaian society. The commission also exist to promote integrity and decency in Ghanaian public life by investigating corruption and educating the public about its high costs and, conversely, the significant pay-offs of a relatively corrupt free society.

Section 7(10)(a)-(h) of the Commission’s enabling statute Act 456 spells out the functions of the Commission as follows:

Investigate complaints of violations of fundamental rights and freedoms, injustice, corruption, abuse of power and unfair treatment of any person by public officer in the exercise of his official duties;

Investigate complaints concerning the functioning of the Public Services Commission, the administrative Organs of the State, the Armed Forces, the Police Service in so far as complaints relate to the failure to achieve a balanced structuring of those services or equal access by all to the recruitment of those services or fair administration in relation to those services;

Investigate complaints concerning practices and actions by persons, private enterprises and other institutions where those complaints allege violations of fundamental rights and freedoms under this constitution;

Investigate allegations that a public officer has contravened or has not complied with a provision of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers. The Code requires that public officers shall declare their assets and liabilities on assumption of office, every four years, and on leaving office;

Investigate all instances of alleged or suspected corruption and the misappropriation of public moneys by officials and to take appropriate steps, including reports to the Attorney-General and the Auditor General, results from such investigations;

Educate the public as to human rights and freedom by such means as the Commissioner may decide, including publications, lectures and symposia;

Investigate confiscation of property made by the two previous military regimes, the Armed forces Revolutionary Council and the Provisional National Defence;

Report annually to Parliament on the performance of its functions.

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National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE)

Ms. Agnes Opoku Ayemang

Intern

Ms. Pamela Laourou

Intern

Ms. Dorcas Affum Tenkorang

Volunteer

Mr. Isaac Bakoe

Driver

Ms. Priscilla Opoku

Office Assistant

Mr. Christian Atteh Semekor

Finance Officer

Mr. Solomon Nyankah

Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

Mr. Samuel Harrison-Cudjoe

Programmes Officer

Mr. Godfred Oppong Amoako

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Mr. Bright Kwadwo Sowu

Head of Programmes & Deputy Executive Secretary

Mrs. Beauty Emefa Narteh

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Private Enterprise Federation

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