Ghana’s Office of the Special Prosecution (OSP) has launched a series of investigations into suspected corruption and corruption-related offences in the public sector. The OSP, headed by Kissi Agyebeng, a renowned anti-corruption lawyer, is mandated to prevent, investigate, and prosecute corruption and corruption-related offences involving public officers and politically exposed persons.
One of the investigations focuses on the government payroll administration, which has been plagued by the problem of ghost workers for years. Ghost workers are non-existent employees who are paid salaries and allowances from the public purse. According to a report by the Auditor-General in 2022, Ghana lost over 1.5 billion cedis (about $260 million) to ghost workers in 2021. The OSP aims to identify and remove ghost workers from the payroll, recover wrongful payments, and prosecute those responsible for the fraud.
The OSP has formed a joint project team with the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to carry out the investigation and assessment. The exercise will cover all banks and employees on government payroll and will be done in two phases. The first phase will cover the Ghana Education Service and the health institutions, while the second phase will cover the Metropolitan/Municipal/District Assemblies, Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Another investigation by the OSP concerns the appropriation, sale and lease of state-owned lands and properties to individuals and corporate bodies since 1993. The investigation covers all lands and properties under the direct stewardship of the Lands Commission, the Ministry of Works and Housing, State Housing Company, State Owned Companies, and other state agencies. It also covers the management of vested lands and all public lands over which the state’s ownership or control has been relinquished and the conditions of release.
The OSP has also commenced analysis of the risk of corruption in respect of the proposed partnership agreement between the Tema Oil Refinery and Tema Energy and Processing Limited. The OSP has directed the management of the refinery to suspend the proposed partnership agreement, ongoing negotiations, operations, and all other ancillary activities arising out of and consequent upon the proposed partnership agreement until otherwise advised by the Special Prosecutor.
The OSP’s investigations are part of its efforts to fulfil its mandate and to combat corruption in Ghana, which ranked 75th out of 180 countries in the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International. The OSP has assured the public that it will conduct its investigations with professionalism, integrity, and impartiality, and will update the media on the progress and outcomes of its investigations. The OSP has also appealed to the public to support its work and to report any suspected cases of corruption and corruption-related offences to its office.
The OSP’s investigations are expected to enhance accountability, transparency, and good governance in Ghana, and to contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.
Source: GhanaWeb
