AG explains lack of prosecution of former government officials

Accra, March 18, GNA - The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Betty Mould-Iddrisu on Thursday reaffirmed her commitment to President John Atta Mills' principles of justice within the confines of the law. She said despite numerous calls for haste in bringing cases to court, she was following the principles of thoroughly investigating cases rather than pushing them to court for them to fail.

A statement issued in Accra by the Minister said that even the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that made a furore about jailing National Democratic Congress (NDC) minister when they in power found it hard to do so with ease. The AG, in citing the cases of Mr Tsatsu Tsikata and Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings, emphasised the need to be both thorough and fair rather than make mistakes in haste.

She said that in this case, most of the ministries and agencies that were due to provide information and evidence for prosecution were painstakingly investigating these matters to ensure that prosecutions encountered no hitches.

Mrs Mould-Iddrisu said that despite several allegations of wrong doing established by the transitional team against former government officials in the NPP administration, the investigators have not yet been able to furnish her office with findings for prosecution. The AG said despite a memo from the Chief of Staff to the various ministries to provide necessary evidence to investigate 49 corruption cases arising out of the transitional team's reports, only the transport ministry had responded.

She refuted the assertion that state investigation agencies expected to feed her office with facts had so many challenges hampering their work, describing as unfortunate some of the criticisms against her competency. On the recommendation of the Ghana@50 Commission of Inquiry that Dr Charles Wireko Brobbey and Former Chief of Staff Kwadwo Mpiani to be prosecuted, Mrs Mould-Iddrisu said her office, collaborating with other state institutions, was working on a Government White Paper after which prosecutions would commence.

She said that her duties had been clearly spelt out by the President, adding "I believe I am acting in the best interest of the State and the people involved".

The Justice Minister has recently come under heavy criticism from within her own party for her inability to prosecute former ministers of state alleged to have mismanaged or misappropriated public funds with some suggesting her inaction was due to the fact that most of these former ministers are her close friends. 18 March 10