Businessman and civil society advocate Senyo Hosi has issued a strong caution to Parliament over ongoing discussions surrounding the possible scrapping or restructuring of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
According to him, any attempt to weaken or abolish the OSP would be fiercely resisted by citizens who believe in strengthening Ghana’s anti-corruption institutions.
He stressed that the OSP remains one of the most critical bodies in the country’s fight against corruption and must be protected rather than undermined.
The debate over the future of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has intensified following Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga’s December 4 call for the institution to be scrapped and its functions transferred to the Attorney-General’s Office. Ayariga argued that the Attorney-General has not been adequately resourced, while the OSP — despite significant investment — “has not produced the expected results.”
Adding to the controversy, private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has petitioned President John Mahama to remove Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng following allegations made by the latter against him.
Reacting to these developments, Senyo Hosi urged national leaders to distinguish between the performance of individuals currently managing the OSP and the broader importance of the institution itself.
“We should be able to separate the effectiveness of the person who is there from the policy value of the office. If you tell me you want to scrap the OSP today, what are you going to replace it with?” he said on Accra-based Citi FM on Saturday, December 12.
He acknowledged that reforms may be necessary but insisted that the fundamental purpose of the OSP must remain intact.
“Because we cannot scrap the policy object. We can decide to change the policy tomorrow and come out with a more potent way of having it exercise its powers. But that policy value must not be lost on us,” he said.
Hosi argued that any legal flaws should be corrected through proper legislation rather than dismantling the entire institution.
“If there are legal issues with it, legitimise it, but these conversations that go left and right as if we do not want anybody controlling what we politicians do or do not do,” he added.
He stressed that accountability is a demand of the Ghanaian people, not something to be shaped by political preferences.
“Policy has only one house, which is politics, and it has only one goal, which is the people. In this case, the people have spoken. We need accountability, and an independent one at that.
“Parliament should hear this loud and clear: we will not allow any politician to vary that policy intended by the OSP. Those who want to even ride on Martin Kpebu to do it should forget it. Martin Kpebu is not against the policy intent of the OSP,” he said.
