Office of Independent Prosecutor not panacea to fighting Corruption –Vitus Azeem

Anti-corruption crusader, Vitus Azeem says creating an office for an independent prosecutor is not a solution to fighting corruption.

President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo prior to the 2016 General Election indicated he will deal differently with corruption in the country.

To this end, he revealed that under his rule, the Public Procurement Act will be strictly enforced and that all contracts shall be made publicly accessible for citizens to make their own judgment on the value-for-money underpinnings of contracts.

The President said he will create a special, independent Public Prosecutor’s Office to deal with issues of corruption when they come up. This, he said will remove party-political considerations and cronyism in the decision to prosecute corrupt public officials.

But speaking to host of the Gold Power Drive, Samuel Eshun on Friday, 26th May 2017, Vitus Azeem noted an office for an independent prosecutor is not the panacea to fighting the canker.

“We can have an office for an independent prosecutor but that is not all. It is just one of the ways; other things must be done,” he stated.

According to him, giving assurances to fight the menace is not enough.

He said Ghanaians cannot be enthused about such utterances since successive governments failed to follow through on similar statements they made in the past.

Vitus Azeem further noted the Akufo-Addo led government started the fight of corruption on a bad note.

He said the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta and Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, should have stepped aside for investigations into respective corruption allegations leveled against them.

These instances Mr Azeem says must be re-examined if government is sincerely committed to fighting corruption.