Executive Director of policy think tank Institute for Liberty and Policy Innovation (ILAPI), Peter Bismark Kwofie, has responded to the declaration of the former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta as a fugitive by Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng.
He asserted that what has happened exposes some flaws in how independent the special prosecutor is.
He wondered why someone who engaged in criminality was not declared wanted or arrested when he was holding public office but had to take the coming in of a new government for the OSP to take action.
Peter Bismark Kwofie opined that from what has occurred, it means that the OSP couldn’t have declared him wanted if the NPP was still in power.He stated that the former minister and his declaration as a fugitive should have been done before the 2024 general elections.”It does not make the OSP independent in this case,” he said.
He explained that at a point the former minister was removed from his position, and yet the OSP could not arrest him.
Mr. Kwofie told Rainbowradioonline.com that Ken Ofori-Atta was the Minister of Finance engaging in alleged illegality in the disbursement of funds but kept mute until the party is out of power.
He was removed as the finance minister, and still the OSP could not take action.The issues he has been cited for are sensitive ones, and clearly he supervised such actions and needs to answer questions. But I think this should have been done before the elections.”
Background
The Office of the Special Prosecutor has formally identified former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta as a suspect in four high-profile corruption cases, involving the National Cathedral project, Strategic Mobilisation Limited, and two additional cases.
The Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng has since declared that Ofori-Atta is now wanted during a press briefing on Wednesday, February 12.
The OSP warned that his office will use any means necessary to get him to return to the country.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
