Uprooting Corruption…PNC & CPP promise to separate Attorney-General from Justice Ministry

By Ebenezer Hanson


Efforts over the years to uproot official corruption have, to many financial experts, not yielded the intended fruits, at best only minimal success. But the People’s National Convention (PNC) and Convention People’s Party (CPP) claim they have found the legal hammer to break the jinx, and that is, the need to separate the Attorney-General’s(A-G’s) Department from the Ministry of Justice.

Both PNC and CPP have reasoned in their respective manifestoes that the
A-G who is also the Minister for Justice feels reluctant to prosecute his fellow Ministers even the face incontrovertible evidence. Thus, in the event that they assume the mantle of power to rule this country they will definitely amend the Constitutional provision that gives rise to this arrangement.

“The PNC finds the present provision of Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution which makes the Attorney General (A-G) both a Minister of State as well as the one responsible for the initiation and conduct of all prosecutions of criminal offences unacceptable. By this provision, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) takes direct instructions from the A-G.

“This defeats the fight against corruption, since the A-G cannot effectively prosecute colleague Ministers of State and various government functionaries. A PNC government will seek to amend this constitutional provision, so as to clearly separate the Minister of Justice and his functions from those of the Attorney- General,” declares the PNC in its manifesto.

The PNC further reveals that to facilitate the new arrangement, the A-G and the office of the DPP shall then be made independent, similar to that of the Electoral Commission (EC) or the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE).

“This independent identity that the PNC is seeking will enable the AG to pursue and bring to book every one including Ministers who commit economic and other crimes against the State. In the opinion of the PNC, this is the one of the most powerful and surest ways of fighting and reducing corruption to the barest minimum,” the PNC envisages.

The CPP also makes similar observations in its manifesto. According to the party, corruption in high and low places and the lack of political will to fight it has undermined public confidence in government and cost the nation billions of Ghana cedis through fraudulent practices in government procurement and government projects.

“Today, public officials and their relatives acquire properties far in excess of their known income; key sections of the bureaucracy, such as CEPS, the Police and the judiciary have repeatedly been shown in surveys to be mired in corruption. This further unde4rmines governance and impedes development,” notes the CPP.

It promises that besides resourcing public institutions such as CHRAJ and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the CPP “will implement a broad legislative agenda including the separation of the Minister of Justice from the Office of the Attorney-General to improve governance and fight corruption”.

But the Chief Justice, Mrs. Georgina Wood, appears indifferent about the decoupling of the A-G from Justice Ministry. She told the Appointments Committee of Parliament during her vetting May 2007 for the position of Chief Justice, that she does not think separating the two offices will bring about any spectacular change in as far as the occupants of the two offices are appointed by the same authority. She thinks the most important thing is for the person or persons involved to work according to the rules, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.

Meanwhile, one Ahumah Ocansey, writing in the Daily Graphic January this year also argues for the separation of the two offices as well as raising concerns about certain administrative issues. He insists, “It is time Ghana’s Parliament insisted on the separation of the two offices and disallowed the President from merging the two again. It is not good for the effective governance of our country.”

He expatiates that when the Minister for Justice position is separated from the A-G, the office holder would be part of Government and have general jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to the administration of justice in Ghana, to wit: The Judiciary, the Police, Prisons, the A-G’s Department.

He is also of the view that, “With respect to the Judiciary, notwithstanding its independence, it draws its monies from the consolidated fund, so that implies the Government interest of a sort. The expansion of the Judiciary and provision of court buildings and facilities must be the responsibility of the Minister for Justice, not the Chief Justice!”

According to Ocansey, “We have confused roles and duties to such an extent that the Chief Justice is overburdened with perfunctory administrative decisions and work that should not be his or her duty at all. Why should a Chief Justice be looking for accommodation for judges and hiring premises for courts? Is that how to administer a country?”

He proposes that the Ministry of Justice should have all the data it requires from the Judiciary, and then plan ahead for the provision of facilities needed to make the administration of justice in Ghana a smooth and an enjoyable one and not drudgery.