The John Dramani Mahama and Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang administration is determined to fight corruption “to the last person” in Ghana, from the highest levels of government down, according to Sampson Samari, Deputy NDC Regional Youth Organizer for the Upper East Region.
Speaking on Bluewaves Breakfast show , Samari said the government is reintroducing tribunals and designating a special court to handle corruption cases more swiftly. He argued that under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, corruption had become “a whole ministry on its own,” with many people recruited into corrupt networks.
Samari, whose party helped introduce the 1992 Constitution, insisted the measures do not violate the law. He accused some individuals of using constitutional provisions to delay prosecutions and slow the pace of justice.
“The corrupt people are finding and hiding under the constitution to impede the speed at which the prosecution… should have been doing,” he said. He added that the NPP’s claim of political witch-hunting rings hollow, noting that the same party saw nothing wrong with the alleged corruption when it was in power.
He cited the case of Chairman Wuntumi, whom he described as “untouchable” under the NPP, but who has since undergone a transparent trial. According to Samari, Wuntumi’s lawyers began withdrawing one after another once the strength of the evidence became clear.
Samari stressed that the goal of the anti-corruption effort goes beyond imprisonment. “The most important thing is not just to throw people behind bars, but to ensure that we could (Recover) what they have stolen,” he said.
He indicated that more details on the special court and related measures would emerge in the coming days as the government continues to pursue both high-profile and lower-level corruption cases.
By Gayheart Abraham
Source: Mybluewavesonline.com|Maurice Duncan| Bolgatanga
