The President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo on Thursday appointed the country’s first ever special prosecutor whose prime duty will be to investigate and prosecute corrupt public officials.
He named a former attorney general of Martin Alamisi Amidu who is considered by many in Ghana to be very independent and a strong character.
The special prosecutor nominee would now be questioned by the country’s parliament before being approved to begin work.
The Parliament of Ghana passed an Act last year to back the special prosecutor role as part of the president’s resolve to fight corruption.
Martin Amidu is a member of Ghana’s opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), making the appointment historic in a country where most appointments are made on partisan bases.
Former President in Ghana, Jerry Rawlings said “The President [Akufo-Addo] couldn’t have made a better choice.”
In a statement he said Mr. Amidu rose above “partisanship and recognized a highly principled citizen.”
The office the special prosecutor is still under the country’s attorney general but would help reduce the workload on investigative agencies enhance their effectiveness.
Corruption is a major problem in most African countries with many of them struggling to tame its tide.
Source: Africafeeds.com
