UNTIL recently, many residents across northern Ghana had only heard about the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) in passing.
To most, it sounded like an institution meant for national headlines and political discussions in Accra, which is distant, formal and disconnected from the daily realities of people who navigate public services, report cases at health centres or struggle with delays in administrative processes.
However, that perception began to shift when the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) rolled out a sensitisation programme designed to explain the OSP Act in simple language and, more importantly, to demonstrate how communities can actively participate in the fight against corruption.
Over the course of the rollout, 665 residents participated in community dialogues and thousands of people were reached through a series of radio engagements in the selected districts.
The targeted participants included market women, youth groups, traditional leaders, teachers, farmers, assembly representatives and persons with disabilities.
In the Upper West Region, engagements were held in districts such as Lambussie, Nadowli-Kaleo, Sissala East, Sissala West and Nandom. Across the Upper East Region, the districts were Kassena-Nankana Municipal, Kassena-Nankana West, Nabdam, Bongo and Bolgatanga Municipal.
In the Savannah Region, sessions were organised in Sawla-Tuna-Kalba and Central Gonja, while further engagements in the Northern Region brought Nanumba South, Gushiegu, Zabzugu, Sagnarigu and Tamale Metropolitan into the fold.
The campaign extended to the North East Region as well, covering Yunyoo-Nasuan, Bunkpurugu-Nakpanduri, East Mamprusi and Mamprugu-Moagduri districts.
Training
At each forum, the OSP Act, 2017 (Act 959) was broken down into relatable examples instead of dense legal language.
The participants discussed how corruption manifests in everyday situations, from being asked to pay extra to access public services to waiting weeks or months for documents that could be processed within days.
To reach many audiences, discussions were held on local radio stations where listeners phoned in to ask questions, share experiences and seek clarification on reporting procedures.
The OSP is a specialised anti-corruption agency established in 2018 to investigate specific cases of alleged or suspected corruption and corruption-related offences involving public officers and politically exposed persons in the performance of their functions, as well as persons in the private sector involved in the commission of alleged or suspected corruption and corruption-related offences, prosecute these offences on the authority of the Attorney-General and provide for related matters.
Fight against corruption
An Assistant Communications Officer at the GACC, Pamela Laourou, said the goal was not only to inform people about the Office of the Special Prosecutor, but also to empower them to act.
She explained that citizens often recognised corruption when it occurs, yet feel powerless because they do not know how to intervene or whether the system will protect them.
Background
The campaign forms part of the Strengthening the Rule of Law and the Fight Against Corruption in Ghana project, implemented under the PAIRED framework with support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), co-financing from the European Union (EU) and Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), and technical partnership from GIZ in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance.
