Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover, Former Member of Parliament for Tema East and the former Greater Accra regional Minister, has asserted that Ghanaians must support the Office of the Special Prosecutor to enable it to deliver the mandate for which the office was created.
He argued that the Office is essential in helping the fight against corruption and therefore must be fortified to deliver on it. He explained that the move to scrap the office is deliberate and a purposeful action to take out the office. He emphasized that the minority had already taken a stance on the issues relating to the Special Prosecutor.
He confirmed that, even though the power to prosecute has been vested in the Attorney General, there is a reason and an agenda that necessitated the implementation of the office of the Special Prosecutor during that particular time.
He emphasized the lack of clear separation of powers in the government. He asserted that the office of the Attorney General has delegated powers to the Ghana Police Service and questioned why the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s case is different. He stated that “there is a genesis to this problem,” recounting the reason for the recent issues regarding the OSP.
He opined that some members of the National Democratic Congress who were happy and excited when the OSP was targeting members of the NPP, are not criticizing the OSP. He accused the NDC of their desire to see the office nullified in order to prevent OSP from delving into their cases.
He reiterated that it went on till one member of the NDC was asked by the OSP to produce assets in his name, and this led to anger and shouting from Martin Kpebu. He stated that this led to the Majority leader and Chief Whip moving a private member’s bill to scrap the office of the special prosecutor.
He criticized the attempt to render the OSP powerless as politically motivated. He asserted that the issue is not valid and therefore must not hold. In his speech, he agreed with the Civil Societies that have come together to back the OSP and prevent the office from being rendered useless, as a good call.
He opined that the coming together of the Civil Societies is because “they are seeing danger,” which necessitates the attempt to safeguard the institution to enable it to continue to dispense its duties, which is to hold public officials accountable for cases involving corruption and corruption-related charges.
OSP To Help Reduce Workload On Attorney General
According to Titus-Glover, the Attorney General’s “hands are tied” with handling so many cases and others pending because of the volume of work. He opined that the OSP will be able to assist the Attorney General in handling some cases, which will ensure efficiency and effectiveness.
In his speech, he stressed that if an individual goes to court to challenge the OSP and gets backing from the Attorney General, then it is a problem that needs to be assessed. He further criticized the Attorney General for discontinuing some cases, which he believes were related to members of the NDC party, citing that such cases could have been handled by an independent body, which is the OSP.
He further stated that the OSP needs to be commended on his good works and also give him the needed support to enhance effectiveness in his operations. He opined that he makes sure he does what is right always to help the country advance, as he will not bring his name to disrepute.
“The Supreme Court must make a determination for us, the prosecutorial powers is with what? the Attorney General; however, the Office of the Special Prosecutor must be given the opportunity to work, let’s support him.”
Titus Glover, former MP for Tema East
He concluded that both the Attorney General and the Office of the Special Prosecutor must sit together to make amends, which will enhance the continuity of the job for the benefit of Ghana.
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