Special Prosecutor to announce conclusion on sacked PPA boss’ case, two others, soon

The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, says his office will announce the conclusion and further actions to be taken on three corruption-related cases soon.

The three are among 45 corruption cases that are being investigated by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

In a statement to the media, the country’s chief anti-graft prosecutor said a determination of prosecution or otherwise would be announced “in the coming weeks.”

The lineup of cases is 14 more than the 31 cases the Special Prosecutor announced he was investigating as of December last year.

While not listing all the cases, he gave a sneak-peek into three of them. The most prominent one is the dismissed Chief Executive Officer of Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Adjenim Boateng Adjei, whose company were found to be selling government contracts.

Manasseh Azure Awuni’s investigation titled “Contracts for Sale” revealed that a company, Talent Discovery Ltd, belonging to A.B Adjei, was winning contracts worth millions. These contracts were awarded by state agencies under the single-source and restrictive tendering methods.

The methods of awarding these contracts were approved by the PPA, which was headed by A.B. Adjei, whose company eventually won the contracts and sold them.

In the documentary “Contracts for Sale” documentary, Mr. Adjei is heard admitting that he formed the company with his brother-in-law, Mr. Francis Arhin.

The investigations led to his suspension and an eventual sack in October 2020 after the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) report recommended his dismissal and further investigations. CHRAJ also placed a five-year ban on him from holding public office.

The Commission also said the former PPA CEO failed to explain his “inordinately large volumes of cash passing through the Bank Accounts” which was “far more than his known income”.

Since his sack 15 months ago, little has been heard about possible prosecution, raising concerns about the state’s commitment to the fight against corruption.

The fears heightened following the resignation of Ghana’s first Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, who cited political interference.

But Amidu’s replacement, Kissi Agyebeng’s press statement revives public interest in one of the high-profile corruption cases in the Akufo-Addo era.

Kissi Agyebeng also mentioned two other cases expected to feature in the list of 45 cases that could go to trial.

The MCE nominee for the Juaben Municipal Assembly, Alex Sarfo Kantanka, who demanded the refund of bribes he paid to assembly members to influence the process of his confirmation, is one of such cases.

The third case involves evasion and valuation of duties on frozen and processed foods involving LaBianca Company Ltd and top officials at the Ghana Revenue Authority.

In his first shot at work, the Special Prosecutor discontinued a suit brought against the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, who was accused of using public office for private gain.

Mr Agyabeng cited the lack of evidence to successfully prosecute the case as the reason for withdrawing the state’s interest in prosecuting it.

The office of Special Prosecutor is a creation by President Akufo-Addo’s government in fulfilment of an election promise he made in 2016 to fight political corruption.