Audio By Carbonatix
The Special Prosecutor nominee, Kissi Agyebeng, says as part of his commitment to fighting corruption, he shall religiously be on the "lookout" for government officials in possession of wealth they can not account for.
Appearing before Parliament’s Appointments Committee, Mr Agyebeng stated that he expects all the wealth of government officials to come from hard work and lawful sources.
According to the nominee, wealth acquisition is not bad; however, “if the person cannot reasonably explain as matched against his lawful income the amount of money in question, then that aspect, in my opinion, should be criminalised.
"But if you can reasonably explain how you came by that amount of money, then that should be acceptable."
“If I were to place the burden on you, matched against your lawful income, and you cannot...explain the shortfall as to how your lawful income falls short of your wealth, then I will be asking you questions and calling you in.”
“I will be looking out in respect of the sources of that income… whatever the source of the income is; should be lawful,” he said.
To make good on his high-level ambition, Mr Agyebeng said he is “going to make corruption very costly to engage in terms of conflict of interest" as his "conscience, and my learning of the law is going to be my guide,” the nominee assured.
Kissi Agyebeng, however, declared that his role is not to stop corruption in its entirety since that will be humanly impossible.
“I am not naive to assume that I’m coming to stop corruption in Ghana. God himself cannot acclaim to that, but I will make it very costly to engage in,” the 43-year-old lawyer said.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Godfred Yeboah Dame nominated Mr Agyebeng, a law lecturer and private legal practitioner, to replace Martin Amidu, who resigned from the position in November 2020 under very controversial circumstances.
If approved, Agyebeng, the 43-year-old legal practitioner and managing partner at Cromwell Gray LLP, will become the second person to occupy the Special Prosecutor's office since the Act establishes the Office of the Special Prosecutor (Act 959) came into force in 2017.
Latest Stories
-
Central Regional Minister urges use of religious platforms to change environmental, sanitation practices
5 minutes -
Henry Kweku Banning
6 minutes -
Execution of US murderer Christa Pike halted an hour before it was due to happen
8 minutes -
GoldBod generates US$1.87bn in FX in September, exceeds monthly target
11 minutes -
SOE comments controversy: ‘We must never abandon our humanity because of judicial office’ – CJ
21 minutes -
Samuel Kojo Brace declares intention to contest NPP parliamentary primary in Ahanta West
22 minutes -
Dr Apaak calls for evidence-based education response to emergencies
26 minutes -
Pilot may have sought to crash Israel-bound flight after stabbing other pilot, Netanyahu says
30 minutes -
Report flags potential money laundering, terrorist financing risks among Ghana’s NGOs
31 minutes -
Breast Cancer Awareness Month launched: 2,695 women die from breast cancer annually — Dr Ann-Dadzie
38 minutes -
Mahama’s proposed airline looks to South America, Caribbean as Ghana confronts mounting drug trafficking cases
54 minutes -
5% progress on Suame Interchange Phase One inadequate – Roads Minister tasks contractor to speed up work
56 minutes -
Photos: Vice President joins GAAS Awards to celebrate outstanding women leaders
57 minutes -
OSP vs Ken Ofori-Atta, SML and others: Court gives OSP four more weeks to serve Ofori-Atta with summons
59 minutes -
High Commission sends caution to Ghanaians in South Africa ahead of planned protests
1 hour