Private legal practitioner Ace Anan Ankomah has outlined a set of reforms he believes are necessary to secure the independence and effectiveness of Ghana’s anti-corruption framework.

He is proposing that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) be consolidated into a single, autonomous prosecutorial authority.

His comments come as public and parliamentary debate intensifies over whether the OSP should be abolished or restructured.

Speaking on Channel One TV on Monday, December 8, Mr Ankomah said the ongoing controversy should be a catalyst for a broader overhaul of the country’s prosecutorial architecture.

He called for a constitutional review of Article 88(3) and (4), which anchor prosecutorial powers within the Attorney-General’s office, arguing that the system has struggled to deliver justice in complex corruption and economic crime cases.

“In my view, Parliament passing the OSP Act is the biggest concession that, when it comes to corruption and corruption-related offences, the AG’s office has not done well,” he said.

Mr Ankomah noted that economic and financial crimes require specialised expertise and that accused persons often mount strong, technical legal defences that the current system is not well-equipped to handle.

To remedy this, he recommended marrying the anti-corruption drive behind the OSP’s creation with the institutional stability offered by the DPP, while drawing on EOCO’s investigative capacity.

This, he argued, would form a single, politically insulated entity capable of handling high-stakes criminal prosecutions.

“We cannot trust any government with criminal prosecutions because we see that it favours their friends,” he stressed, adding that only a fully independent authority would command public confidence and deliver justice impartially.