Gov’t Allegedly Cuts OSP’s Ghc1.2billion Budget To Ghc80million

The Akufo-Addo government has reportedly slashed the Ghc1.2billion budget that the Office of the Special Prosecutor requires for its work to Ghc 80million.

The rather strange mutilation was highlighted during a meeting that anti-corruption civil society organizations had had with the OSP to deliberate on solidarity to fight corruption.

The slashing of the OSPs budget is reminiscent of the deliberate starvation of the previous Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, who complained bitterly about how he had been starved of needed funds to fight corruption and the unwillingness of the Akufo Addo administration to fight graft.

Eventually, Martin Amidu would be forced to resign with his bizarre parting shot describing President Akufo Addo as the “Mother Serpent” of corruption in Ghana.

Meanwhile, after the latest meeting between the new OSP, Kissi Agyabeng and the civil society organization, the group issued a statement saying: “We are dismayed to hear that of the GHS1.2 billion that was budgeted for capital and recurrent expenditure, only GHS80 million was allocated for the 2022 financial year representing only 6.6% of what was requested. This is far below what was even allocated by the government in the 2018 financial year for the setting up of the Office, although the money was never accessed.” 

The CSOs continued: “We acknowledge that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted negatively on government resources and there are many essential competing needs. Nonetheless, we urge the government to do its best to ensure the OSP is finally able to get off the ground so it can do its important integrity building and anti-corruption work, an agenda that the President and the New Patriotic Party have identified as a key development priority if Ghana is to transform and go beyond aid,” the CSOs said in a statement.

It is not clear if this is coming from the CSO’s preview of the 2022 budget which is to be presented on November 15th.

The CSOs which met with the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Adjabeng are Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, Ghana Integrity Initiative, Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, Africa Centre for Energy Policy, Citizen’s Movement Against Corruption, Penplusbytes, Star Ghana Foundation and SEND Ghana.

The rest are Media Foundation for West Africa, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Parliamentary Network Africa, CSO Platform on SDGs, and Ghana Africa Centre for International Law & Accountability.

Also in the company was award-winning investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni.

The CSOs also observed that even though the OSP has moved into a new 10-story building at Ridge, the OSP is yet to retrofit the rest of the floors, recruit the necessary staff, and set up the Office fully.

Mr. Kissi Adjabeng, has been lamenting about staff strength and has been asking for the latitude to recruit more staff, something the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has said he supports.

With a budget of Ghc80million, recruitment of new staff alone would appear to be financially burdensome for the OSP.

It is also not clear if the SP is comfortable with the Ghc80million budget supposedly granted it.