The Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, has called for clarification on statements from the Jubilee House on the Agyapa deal which he reckons are riddled with some inconsistencies.
Contained in a rejoinder dated, November 3, 2020, Mr. Amidu noted that, this has become imperative in order to ensure accuracy and truthfulness in the dispensation of duty.
“The special Prosecutor read last night a Press Release signed by Mr. Eugene Arhin, the Communications Director, Communications Directorate Jubilee House – Accra which contains statements which are inconsistent with the Press Statement issued by this Office in the morning of 2nd November 2020 on the above subject matter which needs to be clarified for purposes of accuracy and truthfulness. Mr. Eugene Arhin’s statement from the accompanying email was issued around 21:00 HRS”.
Mr. Amidu maintains that he “politely” rejected the Finance Minster’s letter on the merit of being unable to comment on conclusion base on a letter which was bereft of the content of a full report.
“H. E. the President offered to give me a copy of the alleged comments of the Hon. Minister of Finance to this Office’s letter with reference number OSP/SCR/20/12/20 dated 16th October 2020 on 1st November 2020 which I politely refused to take because one could not make comments on conclusions and observations of a letter which did not constitute the full report”.
Mr. Amidu further noted that, he also wanted to “preserve the independence of this Office as an anti-corruption agency which does not take instructions on the performance of the anti-corruption functions of the Office”.
“How could anybody think that a thirteen (13) page letter with a reference number constitutes a full assessment report of such an important transaction affecting a most important extractive national resource which is a patrimony of the Chiefs and people of Ghana and generations unborn? The reaction to the full report vindicates my caution”.
According to the special prosecutor, he forwarded the completed sixty-four (64) pages report signed by the Special Prosecutor and dated 15th October 2020 to H. E. the President under cover of letter dated 2nd November 2020 which was signed and received at the presidency.
Equally, he forwarded the same completed sixty-four (64) pages report to the Speaker of Parliament and copied the Majority, and Minority Leaders, while forwarding the same report to the Minister of Finance.
As such, comments by the Hon. Minister of Finance which he was aware of “on Sunday 1st November 2020 could not, therefore, be comments to the Sixty-Four (64) page report I forwarded to the persons named here on 2nd November 2020”.
“I do not intend to be patronized as the Special Prosecutor as Mr. Eugene Arhin appears to have conveyed by the statement issued under his hand. Analysis of the risk of corruption and anti-corruption assessments are a serious anti-corruption tool with very serious consequences for any country dedicated to fighting corruption and making corruption a high-risk enterprise”.
