Parliament has aversion to truly independent oversight bodies-Ace Ankomah

Private legal practitioner Ace Anan Ankomah says Ghana’s Parliament has repeatedly shown discomfort with independent state bodies, particularly when those institutions begin to exercise their constitutional powers fully.

Speaking on Channel One TV on Monday, 8 December, he linked the current push to scrap the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to what he described as a long-standing pattern in the legislature’s attitude towards accountability institutions.

His comments follow renewed calls by Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga and some MPs for the OSP to be dissolved, with its investigative and prosecutorial functions returned to the Attorney-General.

On Wednesday, 3 December, Mr Ayariga questioned, on the floor of Parliament, why significant budgetary allocations should go to the OSP when, in his view, the Attorney-General’s Department itself is under-resourced.

For Mr Ankomah, the friction around the OSP is symptomatic of a broader institutional resistance.

He argued that Parliament has “a great aversion” to independent entities, “even those set up by the Constitution”, pointing to the Auditor-General’s Office as a clear example.

He recalled that despite the 1992 Constitution granting the Auditor-General powers of disallowance and surcharge, it took litigation to compel the office to deploy those tools. Once used, he noted, the powers enabled the Auditor-General to recover about GH¢65 million for the state, referencing World Bank data.

Mr Ankomah went on to cite subsequent developments that, in his view, eroded the autonomy of the Auditor-General, including parliamentary efforts aimed at reversing Supreme Court decisions that had strengthened the office’s hand.

He also drew attention to the contentious early retirement of former Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo, suggesting that the episode weakened the institution’s effectiveness and reinforced perceptions that truly independent watchdogs are not readily tolerated.