Veteran legal practitioner Sam Okudzeto has called for the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to be scrapped, arguing that the institution has failed to achieve its core mandate of fighting corruption.
Speaking in a recent media engagement, Mr. Okudzeto stated that corruption remains pervasive in Ghana despite the establishment of the OSP, which was intended to serve as an independent and more effective body to investigate and prosecute corruption cases.
According to him, the continued prevalence of corruption is evidence that the OSP has not fulfilled the expectations that justified its creation.
“The purpose for which the OSP was set up has not been realized. Corruption is still ongoing, and the office has not delivered the results we were promised,” he said.
Mr. Okudzeto argued that rather than creating new institutions that duplicate existing functions, government should strengthen the already-established anti-corruption bodies such as the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the Attorney-General’s Department.
He stressed that the resources invested in the OSP could be better utilized by equipping these institutions to carry out their mandates more effectively.
“The office should be scrapped. We don’t need multiple agencies doing the same work. What we need is the political will and support for the existing bodies to function,” he added.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor, created in 2017 to lead the fight against corruption, has faced both praise and criticism over its performance, with debates continuing about its independence, resourcing, and impact.