Ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government is in a dilemma over when to start the prosecution of the former alleged corrupt appointees of the past government, Today can report.
This, our sources at the seat of government, Flagstaff House, say has divided the cabinet of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. This development, the source continued, “is giving the President sleepless nights.”
While some key members of the governing NPP including the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo, want President Akufo-Addo to take his time before heading to the courts for any prosecution of any suspected corrupt official in the erstwhile Mahama administration, others think otherwise.
For instance, Deputy Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Joseph Kpemka, cannot wait to see the alleged former corrupt officials being made to face the full rigours of the law, disagreeing with his boss, Gloria Akuffo, who seems to be buying time with the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
According to the deputy Justice minister, who a fortnight ago announced on Citi FM that the President Akufo-Addo-led government will from October this year march appointees of Former President John Dramani Mahama, who allegedly mismanaged state funds with impunity, to the ‘slaughter house’ [court] for the law to take its course felt that some members of the communication team of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) were becoming too pompous.
He said government was building cases against such officials and will put them before court, come October.
“Some of these persons [NDC communicators] who have been daring us on television or radio have questions to answer in court.
“By October when we start moving to the courts with some of the cases, Ghanaians will know that we are serious and we are ready to fight corruption as a canker in this country and uproot it once and for all,” he said. But his boss, Today gathered, was of a contrary view.
According to Ms. Gloria Akuffo, government was not in a hurry to drag people to court over allegations of corruption leveled against them.
The Attorney General’s department, she said, was rather taking time to painstakingly put together watertight evidence before heading to the courts.
She said while she understands the public outcry for the government to swiftly act in the myriad corruption allegations made against some persons, it was most important that any case presented can survive the battle in court to get the desired conviction.
It appears the public is gradually losing patience with the Akufo-Addo administration, over what they believe to be undue delays in hauling former appointees of the past NDC government and other public office holders fingered in corrupt practices to court for prosecution.
There is also some level of anxiety as to when the promised Special Prosecutor’s Office would come into being, especially after the minority in Parliament managed to cause its withdrawal on technical grounds.
The public outcry has been exacerbated by revelations on how the Social Security and National Insurance Trust, (SSNIT) spent a whopping $72 million on a malfunctioning software.
But Ms. Akuffo, who shared her thoughts with journalists at the just-ended NPP national delegates’ conference in Cape Coast in the Central Region on the Special Prosecutor, acknowledged the expectations of Ghanaians, but called for calm, saying it’s not lost on government the promise to ensure every single person found to have misappropriated or stolen state funds is brought to justice.
She said the department was working in collaboration with the security agencies which have the mandate to gather evidence required for prosecution.
“The burden of proof in guilt is a very high one and the least doubt will inure to their [accused] benefit. We are not in a hurry to run people to court just because people are calling for it; we want to go because we have the evidence to support a conviction,” she stressed.
For this reason, she said, “not timelines can be given on when prosecutions would begin, however Ghanaians can BE rest assured that when the time comes, the evidence would be solid to convince the courts.”
But, the latest statement by the minister of justice and attorney general, Today gathered, has brought some relief to some suspected corrupt officials of Former President Dramani Mahama, who initially were living in great fear because of the October date for the commencement of their prosecution.
For instance, some of the alleged former corrupt officials who last weekend were in a meeting at an unknown place in the Volta Region over their prosecution as was reported in our Monday’s edition, August 28, 2017 with the banner headline: “Fear Grips Mahama Boys: Hold secret meeting in V/R over prosecutions in October,” Today further gathered, jubilated over Ms. Akuffo’s statement.
According to our source, one of the alleged corrupt officials who worked closely with former First Lady, Lordina Mahama could not hide his excitement as it will offer him time to cross all the ‘Ts’ and dot the ‘Is’ in some of the contracts he fronted for people before any prosecution begins.
Meanwhile Volta Regional Chairman of the NDC John Kwadwo Gyapong has asked former government appointees of the John Mahama not to panic over threats by President Akufo-Addo to prosecute them.
He contended that the former government officials needed not to fear if their tenure were devoid of wrongdoings.
According to him, “it is normal practice for a new government to investigate officials of previous administration whenever there is change in government, adding, but if they believe they have done nothing, they should not panic.”
He was reacting to our Monday’s publication on the secret meeting held by some past appointees of former President Mahama in the Volta Region.
Story: Atta Kwaku Boadi
