Ayariga, Dafeamekpor sponsor bill to abolish OSP
The draft legislation has not yet been formally laid before Parliament, but its intent is to dismantle the existing OSP framework by repealing the OSP Act in its entirety.
Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga and his Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, have prepared a private member’s bill seeking to repeal the law establishing the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and to abolish the institution altogether.
The draft legislation has not yet been formally laid before Parliament, but its intent is to dismantle the existing OSP framework by repealing the OSP Act in its entirety.
News of the draft bill emerged on the same day President John Dramani Mahama publicly argued that it is too early to contemplate closing down the OSP, insisting that the office still occupies a critical place in Ghana’s anti-corruption architecture.
Speaking at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, 10 December, during a courtesy call by the National Peace Council, the President underlined that the OSP remains the only dedicated anti-corruption body with full prosecutorial autonomy.
“I think it’s premature to call for the closure of that office,” he said, noting that its “unique” value lies in the fact that it can initiate and conduct prosecutions without routing cases through the Attorney-General.
Mr Mahama pointed out that public scepticism about the Attorney-General’s office—because the AG is part of the sitting government—makes the independence of the OSP especially important.
“People believe the Attorney-General will be very reluctant to prosecute his own,” he observed, adding that an institution like the OSP, with security of tenure and its own prosecutorial mandate, can act regardless of who is in power.
