The Constitutional, Parliamentary and Legal Affairs Committee, is currently putting together a report on the Bill for the plenary when it resumes from recess.

The Bill requires that the Special Prosecutor be nominated by the Attorney-General and approved by Parliament before any appointment.

The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, called for the addition of a clause that will make the Special Prosecutor subject to the approval of Parliament, hence making the office strong enough to deal with corruption.

Deputy Minority Spokesperson on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Dominic Ayine, agreed that Parliament needed to be engaged more in the process of the appointment of the Prosecutor.

“The issue was raised as to whether this is a simple majority requirement of approval or it is going to be a two-third majority requirement or what is called a super majority requirement,” Mr. Ayine noted.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor is to enable the government deal with issues of corruption, especially among state officials.

Under the Bill, an independent prosecutor will head the office and prosecute corruption offenses by state officials.
It was one of the major promises made by President Akufo-Addo as part of his plans to deal with corruption in government.

The Chairman of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee of Parliament, Ben Abdallah, assured Ghanaians that the Bill setting up the Office of Special Prosecutor will be ready by October 4, when Parliament resumes sitting.

Meanwhile, a former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice,, Martin Amidu, explained that whoever is appointed by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the Special Public Prosecutor will not need parliamentary approval.

He pointed out that “the Constitution has clearly delineated the type of public officers who shall be appointed by the President with the approval of Parliament.
“Public officers in the category of the Special Prosecutor do not fall under that category and it is unconstitutional for Parliament to partake in the unitary and exclusive appointment powers of the President,” Mr Amidu noted.