Akufo-Addo has lost corruption fight by tying Amidu’s hands, locking out Auditor-General – Mahama

John Dramani Mahama says Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu cannot indict any corrupt government official because his hands have been tied up by President Akufo-Addo.

“The office of the Special Prosecutor is his [President Akufo-Addo's] own baby and yet, he has tied the hands of the Special Prosecutor. We all know Mr. Amidu is a very vociferous lawyer and I am sure that if his hands were freed to really investigate these cases, he would have gotten some prosecutions by now”, Mahama, the NDC flagbearer, told TV XYZ on Sunday August 23.

Mahama noted that the silence of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on the subject of corruption during the incumbent party’s manifesto launch indicates strongly that the Akufo-Addo administration has lost the fight against corruption.

“I’m not surprised because they [NPP] have actually lost the fight against corruption. This president is not willing to fight corruption. And everybody knows that when you fight corruption, corruption fights back at you and depending on who you are in his [Akufo-Addo’s] administration, you can do whatever you want and get away with it,” he said.

“Because he will [Akufo-Addo] personally clear you and say that nothing at all has happened. I mentioned the other day that there is a long list of cases of corruption and he has not made anybody investigate it. My point is that when you fight corruption you need to do it so that it becomes a deterrent, so that others will not engage in it and so obviously they have lost the fight”.

The former President stated categorically that the confidence Ghanaians reposed in the Akufo-Addo government to fight corruption has weakened.

He expressed his disappointment in the treatment meted out to the Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo, whom he described as someone who is very “energetic”.

“Look at what has happened to Domelevo. Domelevo is seen as an energetic Auditor -General who has taken on quite some high profile issues, it is a constitutional body and it is supposed to be independent of government in order that the occupant can do his job properly.

"Unfortunately, this president who is a lawyer and must know the constitution than I has asked the Auditor-General to go on leave. It is the same as asking the EC Commissioner to go on leave or the Chief Justice to go on leave”, Mahama observed.

“When you’re on leave and they change the lock to your office, it means there is no intention that you are coming back, so obviously this government has lost the fight against corruption”, he said.