Separate Attorney General’s office from Ministry of Justice – Gov’t told

The Government of Ghana has been told to decouple the office of the Attorney General from the Ministry of Justice which the Attorney General not being a member of the government.

This according to a a Local Governance Expert, Dr Eric Oduro Osae, will ensure that government officials who engage in various breaches are investigated and prosecuted.

Dr Oduro Osae said these in an interview with journalists on the sidelines of a forum held by Imani Africa and the African Centrer for Energy Policy (ACEP) on the topic “is the public procurement system hurting or saving the public purse?” held in Accra on Wednesday April 21.

Dr Oduro Osae noted that it is expensive to carry out procurements in the public sector compared to the private sector.

He said “The period it takes to procure is too long so even when you have finished with everything it will take about three to six months before you are paid.

“They factor this one in and because of that it has made public procurement more expensive than procurement undertaken by private entities.

“We should review the Public procurement act to make sure that it will reduce the unnecessary ancillary cost that we incur and make it more value for money. As it is now, it is too expensive to do public procurement.”

He added “Let us separate the position of Attorney General from the Minister of Justice. Let us make the position of Attorney General, an independent lawyer who is not a cabinet minister. In that case, he will be empowered to even prosecute colleague ministers.

“I challenge the new Special Prosecutor to up his game as far as investigation and prosecution of offences relating to procurement as per its establishment, are concerned,” he said.