Attorney General Godfred Dame and Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng
The Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Godfred Dame, has assured the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, of the independence of his office.
Mr. Dame gave his word not to stand in the way of the Special Prosecutor in the discharge of his duties to fight corruption and corruption-related issues.
Mr. Agyebeng, on Tuesday, August 31, paid a working visit to the Attorney General.
“I pledge to you my intention not to interfere with your work and I will not do that at all. I recognize your independence and I will make sure all the help you require is given to you from recruitment of competent personnel to budgetary allocation,” Mr. Dame said.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor’s Act (Act 959) mandates the SP under section 3 (f) to co-operate and coordinate with the Attorney General and other competent authorities in Ghana and abroad in the performance of his work.
The Special Prosecutor, Mr. Agyebeng told the AG his Office will require substantial support in some critical areas.
“I have about 9 workers including drivers and cleaners, one prosecutor on secondment from your office, one investigator on secondment from the Police. I am currently reviewing all cases before the Office,” he said.
He said it is his plan to recruit about 250 staff by the end of January 2022. The SP was particularly concerned about salary levels for staff of the Special Prosecutor. He wants better salaries for them.
“You can’t fight corruption with poorly paid staff and staff on secondments, it will be a lost battle,” he noted.
The Special Prosecutor was received by the Attorney General, a Deputy Attorney General, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Attakorah Obuobisa, Director of Legislative Drafting, Mavis Amoah, Principal State Attorney, Evelyn Keelson, Chief State Attorney Sylvia Adusu who represented the Solicitor General and the Chief Director, Sulemana Ahmed.
Mr. Agyebeng was approved by consensus barely an hour after he appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament for vetting on Thursday, July 22. He was subsequently approved by the plenary on Friday, July 23, and sworn in on August 5.
During his vetting, he promised to make corruption a high-risk enterprise to deter people from engaging in corrupt activities.