President Nana Akufo-Addo has given Presidential Assent to five Bills, including that which establishes the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

That completes the legal requirement for the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor following its passage by Parliament on November 14.

The specialised agency will investigate acts of corruption involving public officers, politically exposed persons, and persons in the private sector involved in the commission of corruption. 

The office also has the power to prosecute persons engaged in acts of corruption on the authority of the Attorney-General.

“My hope and expectation is that the establishment of this Office is going to be an important step in our collective determination to root out corruption from the public life of our country. All of us know that it has been a major bane in the development of Ghana.

“And hopefully this Office as it is intentioned, will make that contribution and make sure that public officials -past and present- are held to account to for their actions and that corrupt acts will no longer go without investigations…,” President Akufo-Addo said after signing the Bill Tuesday, January 2, 2018.

Fulfilling commitments

The Bills are some of the most important elements of the New Patriotic Party's 2016 Manifesto, on which the party was elected into office, and they have now found legislative expression.

The NPP in the course of the campaign committed itself to allocate $1million dollars to each of the 275 constituencies of the country through three Development Authorities- Coastal, Middle-belt and Northern- to drive development at the constituencies.

“These Development Authorities which are now put in place would be the vehicle for the management of these funds and the expenditure of the equivalent of $1million per constituency,” the President said.

Commenting on the Zongo Development Fund, the President maintained government position that the Zongo communities “require special consideration from our development initiatives.”

The Fund is expected to elevate those Zongo communities from deprivation and underdevelopment, conditions that have characterised the lives of persons in such communities, the President explained.

“We believe that the centralised approach that we have seen in Ghana…has not been successful in getting that momentum that of development that we require at the grassroots.”

The President further stated that the decision to support the reorganisation of the regions to enhance local democracy by the commitment for the election of district chief executives, are part and parcel of the vision of this approach to development. 

"We want to bring development closer to our people,” Nana Akufo-Addo stressed.