Executive Director of the Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NOPRA), Bismarck Adongo Ayorogo has expressed doubt about the ability of the new Special Prosecutor to fight corruption in the country.
Speaking in an interview on Dreamz FM’s Breakfast News, Mr. Bismarck Adongo said the newly appointed Special Prosecutor, Kissing Agyebeng cannot fight corruption when the political actors who made it impossible for his predecessor to tackle the canker leading to his resignation are still leaders of the country and are the ones who appointed him.
He said even although Mr. Agyebeng has what it takes to tackle corruption head-on in the country, he can only perform effectively in office if the appointing authority turn a new leaf and give him the support he needs to execute his duties without any form of interference.
“Our problem has always been the reaction when one begins to fight corruption and Martin Amidu’s case and that of Domelevo have really shown us that until we turn a new leaf, the forces that fight back corruption are always stronger than those given the mandate to fight corruption.
And you remember words which are not good to be repeated but once you do not have any option than to repeat them, words like Mother Serpent of Corruption and if the people who were referred to as mother serpent of corruption, the people who made it extremely difficult for this man that had a national endorsement (to fight corruption), if these elements are still around, and are not prepared to say they won’t repeat the mistakes of the past then we are in for trouble and we will continue to have issues of corruption in this country,” he stated.
Mr. Adongo, however, has no confidence in the political leadership of the country to change for the better so as to afford the Special Prosecutor the free space to operate.
He said although he always wants to be optimistic about the prospects of the country and its institutions, the circumstances that led to Martin Amidu resigning from office and that which led to former Auditor General, Yaw Domelevo’s retirement give him no assurance that the political forces will allow Mr. Agyebeng to execute his mandate.
For him, the government created the Office of the Special Prosecutor and appointed officials to the office just to pretend to be tackling the canker and is not prepared to allow any official of the office to seriously fight the canker.
“It just because they want to be seen pretending to be fighting corruption because the thing was not about competence. It wasn’t about logistics. The thing was simply because the invisible political hands did not allow the man (Martin Amidu) to fight corruption and some were forced out of their offices.
So if that was done just yesterday, there is no enough guarantee that that will not be done today particularly when the same human beings are still around and still making the appointment. That is why people are not interested in it because they know it is just a friend who has been brought in to line his pocket and be instructed to do what the appointing authority want,” he added.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor was established in 2018 to independently investigate and prosecute corrupt government officials as well as take steps to prevent the canker in fulfillment of a campaign pledge by then opposition leader, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ahead of the 2016 elections.
Martin Amidu affectionately referred to as Citizen Vigilante was appointed as the first head of the office. Mr. Amidu, however, resigned in 2020 after accusing president Akufo-Addo of interference in his work. Mr. Kissing Agyebeng has since been appointed to replace Mr. Amidu as head of the office.
