Prez. Mahama Says Calls to Scrap the OSP Are Premature

President John Mahama has dismissed calls for the abolition of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), insisting the institution remains a vital pillar in Ghana’s anti-corruption architecture.

During a courtesy call by the National Peace Council at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, December 10, the President underscored that the OSP is the only anti-corruption agency with full prosecutorial independence.

“I think it’s premature to call for the closure of that office. The unique thing about that office is that it is the only anti-corruption agency that has prosecutorial powers to prosecute cases itself without going through the Attorney-General,” President Mahama said.

He explained that public distrust in the Attorney-General’s office, because it forms part of the sitting government makes the independence of the OSP even more critical.

“People believe the Attorney-General will be very reluctant to prosecute his own but with an independent institution like the Office of the Special Prosecutor, it won’t matter who you are, because they have security of tenure and the prosecutorial authority to act,” he noted.

President Mahama encouraged the OSP to fast-track its ongoing investigations to rebuild public trust.

“People want to see more prosecutions and more results. I will just urge the OSP to speed up some of these investigations and show that the office is still very relevant,” he added.

His remarks follow recent comments by Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga, who called for the OSP’s abolition, arguing that the institution has failed to achieve its core mandate eight years after its establishment.

Addressing Parliament on Thursday, December 4, the Majority Leader questioned both the constitutional basis and the performance of the OSP, stating that the House should reconsider its earlier approval of the institution’s creation.

He argued that the attempt to structure the OSP in alignment with the Constitution was flawed from the beginning and that the office has not produced meaningful results in the fight against corruption.

During the same parliamentary sitting, Speaker Alban Bagbin expressed concern over the continued allocation of large budgetary resources to the OSP, describing the expenditure as difficult to justify given the office’s output. He noted that despite the strong public support that greeted the creation of the OSP, its performance has fallen short of expectations.