Now that Nana Addo has been elected President, he is finally in the position to establish the promised office of an Independent Prosecutor, as part of his plans to eliminate corruption in Ghana.
President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo, has reiterated his promise to deal with corruption in his administration. This he said he will achieve, through the use of an independent prosecutor.
Nana Addo who had on several previous occasions promised not to engage in what is commonly known as ‘witch-hunting’, explained that it is only an office devoid of political influence that can properly deal with issues of corruption which has been bedeviling Ghana. The President-elect made these statements while speaking in an interview with BBC.
Also See: Nana Addo Promises to Banish Corruption Using Special Prosecutor
Nana Addo pointed out that his decision is to take politics out of the fight against corruption. According to him, the Special Prosecutor’s Office will be independent of the executive and as well, have a legal backing to investigate and prosecute allegations of corruption. This he said, will make their activities to be free from being tagged witch-hunting.
The incoming President had earlier made it clear that he never has intentions of going after only his political opponents in the name of fighting corruption, hence his decision to use an Independent Prosecutor. He therefore stressed that the issue of ‘immunity’ is out of it when it comes to corruption. According to him, “we are citizens of Ghana first and foremost, and therefore cannot be immune from being held accountable for our actions”.
He expressed optimism that his administration will be able to appoint the right person to occupy the all-important position. According to Nana Addo, it must be “someone who command the respect of the society, and at the same time has an independent mind to make the decisions”.
See Also: ‘Corruption Cannot Be Totally Uprooted But…’ – Nana Addo
Speaking further, Nana Addo said that aside his intention to establish an independent prosecutor’s office, his main priority will be fixing the economy and addressing the youth unemployment rate in the country, which according to World Bank is currently at 48% for persons between ages 15 and 24. This he said is very important as the country and society will run into all kinds of problems down the line if it is left unattended.
Moreover, the President-Elect bemoaned the NDC’s appointment of the wrong persons for certain positions; a major contributing factor to the current poor economic growth in the country. To correct that, he said that only committed and competent persons will be given the opportunity to serve in his administration – people who have the fundamental connect to the group of ideas that are set out in the manifesto and as well have the capacity to carry them out.
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