OSP recovers $40m in anti-corruption efforts
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has recovered $40 million through the disruption of counterfeit syndicates as part of its anti-corruption efforts.
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The OSP also recovered GH¢6.8 billion and the equivalence of $528 million from government transactions that were suspended due to corruption risk assessments. The Director of Strategy, Research and Communications of OSP, Sammy Darko, disclosed this at the ongoing 14th Regional heads of anti-corruption agencies from Commonwealth Africa.
The conference, which has brought together heads of anti-corruption agencies from across Commonwealth member countries in Africa, is aimed at strengthening institutions and promoting transparency in the fight against corruption.
It is on the theme: "Strengthening institutions and promoting transparency; a means of fighting correction in Commonwealth Africa." Mr Darko said the office had also made savings of GH¢101 million, equivalent to $7.7 million to the state from interventions in cases such as bloated contracts.
Additionally, the OSP has made recoveries of GH¢1 million, equivalent to $82,000 and facilitated a 12 per cent revenue increment in auction sales for the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Challenges
Despite these achievements, the OSP faces challenges, including gaps in Ghana's anti-corruption framework, poor collaboration among law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies, sponsored attacks and propaganda.
The office, Mr Darko said, faced the challenge of insufficient funding which plagued most public institutions in Ghana. To address the challenges, the OSP is advocating a Corruption Practices Act in the country, which will bring all corruption and corruption-related offences into one specific law, offering anti-corruption institutions a harmonised reference point.
Mr Darko said the introduction of unexplained wealth orders would also enable the confiscation of wealth that is insufficiently explained as originating from legitimate sources.
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The OSP’s Director of Strategy, Research and Communications said the office was encouraged by its achievements attained within a short period and expressed the optimism about achieving more with the support of other anti-corruption institutions, including the judiciary, civil society groups and the public, as well as learning from collaboration with peers across the Commonwealth.