Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has disclosed that parliament’s vetting committee has begun background checks on special prosecutor nominee, Kissi Agyabeng.
According to him, the investigation is to establish the eligibility, qualification and competence of the nominee.
His comments follow Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu’s earlier assertion that the special prosecutor nominee lacked the credentials required to combat corruption.
That notwithstanding, Mr. Osei Kyei Bonsu explained that, the competence of the nominee can only be justified by members of the committee.
“Well, we want parliament to expedite action given the sensitive position. We also want parliament to do a thorough job with the background of the person to establish the fact that he has the competence, the qualification [and] the eligibility to handle the portfolio. So, we want them to do a thorough job. I would want to see a thorough job done by parliament on the nominee by the President”.
Commenting on the exact date the special prosecutor nominee will be vetted, the Suame legislator revealed he wasn’t privy to that information.
“It is not for me to establish the date; it is for the committee to establish their own date. As I indicated, the chairman and some of the senior members are outside the jurisdiction. So, they will upon their return establish the date for the special prosecutor”.
Competence of special prosecutor
Mr. Osei-Kyei Bonsu further iterated his stance on the approval of the special prosecutor nominee by arguing that, skillset and competence should be the object of contention.
He further urged the vetting committee to do due diligence and exact thoroughness in discharging their duties.
“Nobody has told me about that. Well, it will be established by the committee. If he is not competent, the vetting will bring it out. It would not lie in the mouth of an individual to say that he is not competent. As I’m saying, his own position is a peculiar one and we want parliament to be thorough in order to establish that he has both the qualification and eligibility criteria and that he has the competence to deal with his office. “To me, these are the three matters that we should be looking at”.
Minority’s disapproval of OSP nomination
Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu in April, expressed his disappointment over the nomination of Kissi Agyebeng as the special prosecutor.
Speaking in an interview then, Mr. Iddrisu maintained that, Agyabeng’s nomination is disappointing. He further revealed that the nominee lacked the competence in occupying that position.
“Credentials compared to who? Mr. Martin Amidu is a non-starter. Compared to Mr. Martin Amidu in terms of stature, experience, integrity, and reputation, he [Kissi Agyebeng] just doesn’t come close. You need men of weight and will to fight corruption. Mr. Martin Amidu suited [the Office] perfectly but because he would not get the cooperation and the support of the president, he had to bow out.”
Corroborating his stance, Director of Legal Affairs for the National Democratic Congress, Abraham Amaliba also noted that Mr. Agyabeng lacks the political clout to fight public sector corruption.
“I’ve worked with him before, and he is a moderate person, not the hawkish type. What I can say about him is that he has the intellectual capacity to man that office because he is a criminal law lecturer but what he lacks is the public and political clout to fight public sector corruption”.
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