6 public officers standing corruption trial still at post; why? Martin Amidu questions

The Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, has revealed his office has put a total of eight people before the courts for corruption-related offences, six of whom he disclosed are public servants.

He, however, wonders why the six public servants, though facing the courts, are still allowed to hold their offices when the law requires that such officers either be suspended or interdicted.

Speaking on Time With David, Mr. Amidu, bemoaned such acts do not augur well for the fight against corruption.

“When a public servant is suspected of crime and he is being charged, he is expected either to be suspended or interdicted. If you don’t do that or you do that discriminatorily, you have lowered the bar against the fight against corruption,” he said.

He added that the suspension of the former Public Procurement Authority (PPA) boss, Adjenim Boateng Adjei, who is only under investigation for corruption, while those put before courts remain in office raises questions.

“For instance, I have eight people in court, about six of them are public servants currently, nobody has taken steps to interdict or suspend them and yet AB Adjei, whose case I’m investigating has been suspended already.

“What of those who are before a court of law? How do others look at them? So, they can still go to their offices and maybe commit more procurement malpractices?” he quizzed.

This is not the first time the Special Prosecutor is taking on public institutions for a seeming sabotage of the corruption fight as he wrote an epistle two months ago raising same concerns.

• Martin Amidu writes about why his office is ‘failing’

Mr. Amidu noted that if Ghana must win the fight against corruption, then the country must be ready to make commitments that go beyond lip-service.

“You must establish good institutions, well resourced, independent in fact not in theory, appoint officers who are not politically inclined but are professional in their duties who do not turn back looking for promotions from politicians and therefore will do what the politician tells him but will do what the constitution tells him,” he said.

“The fight against corruption is not a matter of rhetoric, it’s the matter of action”, he reiterated.

While expressing some frustrations about what he terms as a “bi-partisan attempt to sabotage” his work, he has counted among his gains the 8 who are currently standing trial and 20 others whom he says will soon be put before court.