The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has come under heavy criticism from several members of Parliament for failing to meet its mandate nearly eight years after its establishment.
The MPs have questioned the office’s effectiveness, especially given the large sums of public money allocated to it over the years.
During discussions on the OSP’s budget estimates on Friday, March 28, MP for Effia, Isaac Boamah Nyarko, expressed concerns about the tangible results the office has delivered.
He pointed out that despite receiving hundreds of millions of cedis, the OSP has shown little progress.
“The OSP has fewer than 250 staff, yet its compensation costs amount to 1.8 million cedis. What is the justification for this? We are cutting budgets for other ministries and agencies, but the OSP continues to pay high compensation for a relatively small team. Why is this the case?” Mr Nyarko asked.
He also compared the OSP’s budget to that of other institutions, noting that while Legal Aid received 5 million cedis, the OSP had been allocated 32 million cedis for goods and services, and 47 million cedis for capital expenditure in previous years.
“Given all the resources allocated to the OSP, what has the office delivered to Ghana in return?” he questioned.
Mr Nyarko highlighted that, according to the OSP’s mandate, the Special Prosecutor should retain 30% of all recoveries made by the office.
“If the Special Prosecutor works for a year and makes no recoveries, that is a complete failure. If no recoveries are being made, how can we assess the performance of the OSP? The Attorney General is supporting the OSP’s allocation of over 140 million cedis, but we must carefully review these estimates to ensure we get value for money,” he argued.
Nearly eight years since its creation, the OSP has failed to secure a single conviction. According to documents presented to the committee, the office currently has only three criminal cases in progress.
“When you look at these cases, it’s clear that the office’s focus seems to have shifted. Why is this happening?” Mr Nyarko asked.
MP for Manhyia South, Baffuor Agyei Awuah, also criticised the OSP for its lack of convictions and for straying from its core mandate.
He argued that the OSP had started pursuing responsibilities that should fall under the remit of the Auditor General.
“It has been eight years since the OSP was established, and there hasn’t been a single conviction. According to the agency’s own documents, it currently has only three criminal cases after all these years. When you examine these cases, it’s clear that the office’s focus has shifted. Why is this the case?”Mr. Awuah asked.
Mr Awuah stressed that the OSP was created to protect the public purse, which is the purpose of the budget being reviewed.
He noted that the Auditor General’s role is to monitor government spending, but when reviewing the OSP’s documents, there is little focus on the Auditor General’s work.
“It appears that the OSP has strayed from its primary mandate,” he said.
He further highlighted the public accounts hearings, which often reveal government inefficiencies and attract significant attention.
“When Ghanaians watch the Public Accounts Committee hearings and see the fallout, they lose faith in the system. But it seems the OSP has ignored these issues and instead is focusing on matters like stool lands, which are outside of its mandate,” Mr Awuah said.
Mr Awuah concluded by calling for a thorough review of the OSP’s performance and budget allocation to ensure that the office delivers on its intended purpose and provides value for money.
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