Former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has defended its handling of a case involving the former finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, stating that it has been fair in its dealings with him.
Samuel Appiah Darko, Director of Strategy, Research, and Communication at the OSP, refuted claims that the office had been unfair in declaring Mr Ofori-Atta wanted, insisting that the former minister had been given enough time to respond to invitations by the Office.
“… The people who argue that way are missing the point. Because the point is not about fairness. If it is about fairness, we are being very fair. That is why we go to him,” he said.
“Not being fair is rather having somebody bring you down when he has not even had a correspondence with you,” he said on Saturday during a discussion on an Accra-based television programme.
Mr Darko explained that while every Ghanaian had the right to travel for medical treatment, individuals under investigation must also make themselves available when required by law enforcement agencies.
“…You have to then prove to us why you are not able to come. Are you so sick that you cannot fly? Or the issue has to do with the inconvenience of your originally planned schedule? That is the whole matter. We are saying that once you are able to give us cogent reasons, we will give you that opportunity,” he said.
He continued, “So, the point we have to make is that if Mr Ofori-Atta is willing to give us a definitive date by which he wants to come to Ghana, the OSP is willing to accommodate that. Apart from that, if he’s also able to tell us that he is invalid and cannot travel, the OSP is willing to accommodate that.
“What the OSP will not accommodate is to try and give some citizens the opportunity to remain where they want to be and do whatever they want to do without recourse to a serious alleged crime that we are investigating.”
Mr Darko said the OSP’s decision to declare Mr Ofori-Atta wanted was not arbitrary but followed due process, emphasising that no individual was above the law, regardless of their status.
He insisted that the OSP had been transparent in its dealings with the former Finance Minister and had acted in accordance with legal procedures.
Mr Frank Davies, Chairman of the Constitutional and Legal Committee of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), however, disagreed with Mr Darko‘s justification of the OSP’s actions, saying: “It is casting a very poor picture of the OSP.”
He argued that the former minister had communicated his medical condition through his lawyers, and the OSP’s refusal to accept the medical letter as proof of his inability to travel was problematic.
He said the letter was written by Mr Ofori-Atta’s doctors “so whether you believe it or not, it is neither here nor there. But at least he has corresponded. So that cannot be suggestive of a failure to appear.“
He questioned why the OSP had not requested a medical report if it doubted the authenticity of the letter, suggesting that the office had already made up its mind.
The OSP on Wednesday declared the former Finance Minister a fugitive from justice. He is being investigated for alleged corruption and corruption-related offences.
Mr Kissi Agyebeng, the Special Prosecutor, addressing the media on ongoing investigations, said some of the offences were contractual arrangements between Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited and the Ghana Revenue Authority for the enhancement of revenue assurance In the downstream petroleum sector, upstream petroleum production, and minerals and metals resources value chain.
Others are the termination of a Distribution, Loss Reduction and Associated Network Improvement Project contract between the Electricity Company of Ghana Limited and Beijing Xiao Cheng Technology (BXC) and procurement of contractors and materials.
The rest are activities and payments in respect of the National Cathedral project and contract awarded by the Ministry of Health (initially commenced by the Ministry for Special Development Initiatives) to Service Ghana Auto Group Limited for purchases and after-sales service and maintenance of 307 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and 305 CDI ambulances for the National Ambulance Service.
Watch the latest edition of BizTech below:
