AKUFO-ADDO IS NOT SERIOUS ABOUT FIGHTING AND PREVENTING CORRUPTION-AMIDU

By John Agbleke

Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has passed a damning verdict on Akufo-Addo and his government that he does not see any serious non-partisan prospect by them in fighting and preventing corruption even if they get an improbable second term in 2021. Mr. Amidu revealed this in his resignation letter to the President in which he stated his disagreement with the President over his alleged interference in the work of the Special Prosecutor’s office.

Mr. Amidu stated that the President has usurped the functions of the Special Prosecutor and sought to be a judge in his own cause in trying to prevent him to undertake an independent follow-up actions on the anti-corruption assessment reports because negative anti-corruption assessment reports have been made against the conduct of the Office of the President. He said:“more importantly, your Excellency was acting as a judge in his own cause in usurping my functions to take any independent follow-up actions on the anti-corruption assessment report when you knew …that negative anti-corruption assessments had been made against the conduct of your Office in the procedure adopted in granting Executive Approval dated 24^th March, 2020, and your assent of the Minerals Income Investment (Amendment) Act, (Act 1024) on 27^th August, 2020 intended to retroactively impact the Parliamentary approval of the transactions.”

It is revealing in Amidu’s resignation that President Akufo-Addo was so jittery about the report that he arranged two SOS meetings, one on Sunday evening of 1^st November, 2020, where the President practically sought to influence him to halt further investigations into the matter which the SP refused. At one of these meetings the President wanted to force Amidu to consider comments from the Finance Minister on the report even though he made it clear to him that per the laws, the Finance Minister cannot review the report of the OSP. The SP also revealed the President wanted him to shelve the report on the Agyapa Royalties Limited Transactions to enable the President handle it his own way but he rejected it reminding the President he cannot direct him how to go about his work.

Amidu went on to claim that the President on many occasions tried to circumvent the Agyapa Royalties Limited Transaction report which he the SP had to forcefully release without his knowledge. After the release the Special Prosecutor said the President was left with no choice but to “politicize and downplay the seriousness of the professional analysis of the risk of corruption and anti-corruption assessment reported by my office,” he lamented.

There is a stronger indictment of the President in Paragraph 7 of the resignation letter to the President which states: “the 64-page analysis of the risk of corruption and anti-corruption assessment report discloses several serious corruption and corruption related offences in respect of which I intend to open full investigations as the Special Prosecutor. I cannot do that now after your political interference in the performance of the functions of the office for two weeks from 20^th October, 2020 to 1^st November, 2020 culminating in your directives on how the anti-corruption assessment report of the Agyapa Royalties Limited transaction by this Office should be handled by the principal suspects disclosed by the anti-corruption assessment report”.