Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga and his Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Etsey Dafeamekpor, have drafted a private member’s bill seeking to repeal the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) Act and abolish the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
The draft bill has yet to be laid before Parliament.
The development comes on the same day President John Mahama cautioned against calls to dissolve the OSP, insisting that the institution remains a vital component of Ghana’s anti-corruption framework.
Speaking during a courtesy call by the National Peace Council at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, December 10, President Mahama described the OSP as the only anti-corruption body with full prosecutorial independence.
“I think it’s premature to call for the closure of that office,” he said.
“It is the only anti-corruption agency that has prosecutorial powers to prosecute cases itself without going through the Attorney-General.”
The President explained that the perceived lack of independence of the Attorney-General — who serves as a political appointee — makes the OSP’s autonomy even more important.
“People believe the Attorney-General will be very reluctant to prosecute his own,” he noted.
“But if there is an independent office like the OSP, it won’t matter who you are, because they have security of tenure and the authority to act.”
Call for Greater Results
President Mahama also urged the OSP to accelerate its investigations and demonstrate measurable progress in the fight against corruption.
He said the public’s demand for tangible outcomes is understandable, but highlighted that the newly reconstituted office needs time and support to deliver.
“I’ll just urge the OSP to speed up some of these investigations and show people that the office is still very relevant,” he added.
According to the President, the OSP’s independence is critical because it allows the office to prosecute offenders across political divides.
“Whether you’re a member of government, a former government, or anyone who has misappropriated public funds, they have the lawyers behind them to prosecute you,” he said.
Parliament’s Growing Criticism
President Mahama’s comments follow remarks by Majority Leader Ayariga on the floor of Parliament, where he argued that the OSP has failed to deliver significant results eight years after its establishment and should therefore be abolished.
At the same sitting, Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin raised concerns about the continued allocation of substantial funds to the OSP despite perceived performance shortcomings, describing the expenditure as increasingly difficult to justify.
However, President Mahama maintained that the OSP remains strategically important and should be strengthened rather than scrapped.
