Nana Addo’s appointees making my work difficult – Martin Amidu

Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu has hinted that appointees of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo don’t share the vision of their boss to uproot corruption in the country.

Speaking on the challenges his office is facing in the fight against corruption, he said the government appointees are making his work very difficult.

He said “the success of the experiment would depend on the extent to which Ministries, Departments and Agencies in government with the responsibility to cooperate with the office to achieve the vision of the president who championed the setting up of the office.”

He added: “The present situation where critical ministries and agencies have failed even with our limited constraints or refused to produce public records on demand to aid the office in critical investigations, offences running into millions of cedis, clearly demonstrates that there is divergence between the president’s vision and that of some of his appointees.”

According to him, he has been left frustrated by the lack of resources, which has rendered his office incapable of fully delivering its mandate.

“You ask for information you can’t get it, you ask for docket, the docket cannot be produced. You ask a minister for a record, the record cannot be produced. How do you fight corruption when those appointed by the president who has a vision are not coordinating with the office of the special prosecutor to achieve his mandate?” Martin Amidu quizzed.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor was established in November 2017 with a specific mandate to oversee cases of corruption, involving public officers and individuals in the private sector.

Many Ghanaians were upbeat following the appointment of Mr. Amidu as the country’s first-ever Special Prosecutor.

However, the ‘Citizen Vigilante’, has so far failed to make an effective impact at his new role.

According to him, his office will not be able to fully discharge its duties if it is not well-resourced to do so.
“The success in the fight against corruption will depend on the extent to which the president’s vision is supported by his operatives. The personality and reputation of the Special Prosecutor cannot be a solution to a problem which has festered since independence,” he stressed.