Energy Analyst Kwadwo Poku has criticised the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), describing it as a “nuisance” and arguing that the institution has strayed beyond its legal mandate.

Speaking on the JoyNews AM Show, Mr Poku said the OSP was established with the hope of strengthening Ghana’s anti-corruption efforts, but its implementation has become problematic.

“In Ghana, every good initiative, every novelty has a problem in implementation. The Office of the Special Prosecutor is a novelty. The Office of the Special Prosecutor was something that we all thought would help the country move forward.”

He argued that Ghana’s greatest challenge lies not in its institutions, but in the people entrusted with managing them.

“With most institutions that we have in Ghana, then it becomes a problem because of the Ghanaians that we put in there. Obama came and said that as a country we should build institutions. The biggest problem we have today in Ghana is not the institutions; it's the people that mandate institutions.”

Mr Poku said his criticism was directed at the OSP as an institution rather than the special prosecutor personally.

“The OSP is becoming a nuisance. The Office of the Special Prosecutor is becoming a nuisance. The SP is a product of the office.”

He said the special prosecutor should not be singled out, noting that several officials make up the OSP and contribute to its operations. He therefore maintained that his criticism was directed at the institution as a whole.

He accused the OSP of wrongly interpreting its enabling law and undertaking investigations that fall outside its mandate, citing investigations into alleged vote-buying during elections.

“They do things that the law doesn't allow them to do. A lot of things, the bit where they try to investigate electoral people giving out money in elections and all that, have nothing to do with their mandate. Their mandate is very clear.”

Mr Poku also questioned the value Ghana has derived from the OSP despite the public resources invested in establishing the institution.

“We've spent billions of Ghana cedis to set up an office. What do we have to show for it?”

Referring to the Supreme Court’s interpretation of prosecutorial authority, he maintained that while the OSP has powers to investigate, prosecutions ultimately require the involvement of the Attorney General.

Mr Poku further criticised the Special Prosecutor for what he described as a preference for holding press conferences instead of pursuing prosecutions, citing investigations into Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) and former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.

“We need to let everybody know where they stand when it comes to the law of this land. The OSP is not a power unto himself. That is why he always likes to stand at the podium and complain. You have to go to court. You have to prosecute. He's been talking about SML, Ken Ofori-Atta, forever. Has he gone to court?”

He said Ghana could do better without the OSP, arguing that its tenure ending or the NDC deciding to get rid of the office entirely would be a positive development.

"For me, if his tenure runs out next year, good riddance. If the NDC decides to get rid of that office entirely, good riddance. Because I think we can do better in this country without that institution, because it has proven that it's problematic.”