General News of Thursday, 1 February 2018

Source: starrfmonline.com

Corruption Fight: We’re counting on Amidu – Osei Owusu

Special Prosecutor Nominee, Martin Amidu Special Prosecutor Nominee, Martin Amidu

The first Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Owusu has cautioned the public against unrealistic expectations from the yet-to-be vetted Martin Amidu.

The former Attorney General and Minister for Justice was nominated by President Akufo-Addo as the First ever Special Prosecutor in January this year.

Mr. Amidu’s nomination generated huge excitement from anti-graft campaigners and the public at large.

However, in an interview with Starr News’ Parliamentary Correspondent Ibrahim Alhassan, Mr. Osei Owusu who is also the chairman for the appointment committee said the excitement is premature.

That notwithstanding, he said, Mr. Amidu’s objectivity is unquestionable. “He has in the last few years been very firm in fighting against what he perceived to be corrupt practices and he has not been discriminatory. He writes against parliament, he writes against political appointees, he writes against people in his own party and so that kind of objectivity commends itself to everybody,” he told Alhassan.

Expressing hope that Mr. Amidu will receive an overwhelming endorsement from members of the appointment committee, Mr. Osei Owusu said, “We all have hope that he would do what the law expects him to do. He would assuage peoples faith and confidence in the system. I pray he is able to do that because that is really what is generating the kind of cynicism about governance with people believing that they are the same and they will protect one another.”

“These kinds of cynicisms probably will go away and people will have faith in the system,” he added.

He further noted that he would be “fulfilled” if he sees people against whom there is evidence that they have committed crime against the country being punished.