Decouple position of Minister of Justice from that of Attorney-General — Bagbin
The Majority Leader in Parliament, Mr Alban S.K. Bagbin, has added his voice to calls for the decoupling of the position of the Minister of Justice from that of the Attorney-General as a necessary step to stem the tide of corruption in the country.
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Such a move, he said, had become necessary because a minister of state holding the two portfolios would find it very difficult to prosecute his or her colleagues who fell foul of the law or abused their office for private gain.
Speaking at a public lecture on the theme: “Corruption and National Development” at the University for Development Studies (UDS), Wa Campus, in the Upper West Region, Mr Bagbin said although the separation was necessary, such a move would require an amendment to the Constitution.
"This is a slow process and could be expensive because some of the clauses are entrenched in the 1992 Constitution but there is the need now for an independent prosecutor," he said.
He, therefore, called on the public to advocate the separation of the Ministry of Justice from the Attorney-General’s Department, since it was not only in the hands of the political parties to fight for that.
Fighting corruption
Mr Bagbin affirmed that corruption was very pervasive in the country and that an independent prosecutor could help to fight it in the society without fear or favour.
The Majority Leader said although the country was held in high esteem abroad due to its improved democratic credentials, the scope of corruption was still endemic and permeated every sector of the economy and society.
"There is poor enforcement of laws, rules and regulations. The law-enforcement institutions in countries where corruption is a norm are ill-equipped, poorly staffed and paid," he said.
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Ghana’s rating
Although, Transparency International (TI) rated Ghana 49th world-wide and seventh in Africa recently, which he said was commendable, he added that much was needed to eradicate poverty and improve on the provision of social services such as education, health, sanitation and electricity.
"Weakness in institutional structures may result in the failure to implement and enforce laws that could otherwise ensure accountability and transparency,” he said, adding that the politicisation of corruption and the corruption of politics should be halted.
He explained that corruption was more visible today because of new political and media conditions rather than because governments were more corrupt than their predecessors.
“All is not lost if we can make a concerted effort to stem the spate of corruption by changing our mindset, since it is not a one man’s fight. It is our civic duty to expose them,” he said.
As the future generation, he said, it behoved the youth to be bold, come out and not to be silent in the fight against the crime. " You should not allow yourself to be dragged into the wrongs of your forebears,” he charged the students.
Earlier, the Dean of the Faculty of Integrated Studies, Dr Daniel Bagah, called on the students to carry the message on the need to minimise the canker, which was alarming in the country, to their mates who were not at the lecture.