Government spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu says Cabinet has approved the reintroduction of special tribunals to fast-track corruption and illicit wealth cases.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, the Abura Asebu-Kwamankese MP said the move is intended to address delays in the judicial system and ensure cases linked to the government’s anti-corruption agenda are handled more efficiently.
“Cabinet has approved the reintroduction of the tribunal system, which, in any event, is in the Constitution.”
He explained that the tribunals will focus on cases involving the government’s Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) initiative as well as other cases involving illegal wealth.
“It is something that has been resuscitated, and very soon it will be rolled out to deal with cases of ORAL and cases involving illegal money, other cases that clog our court system.”
Mr Kwakye Ofosu’s comments come amid criticism from some anti-corruption advocates who believe the government is moving too slowly in pursuing corruption-related cases.
Responding to concerns raised by some members of the ORAL committee, including former Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo, he questioned what critics mean when they say government is not acting fast enough.
“You have to define what the expression means by government is not moving fast enough.”
He pointed to several actions taken by investigative agencies since the Attorney General assumed office.
“The Attorney General was sworn into office sometime in February last year, and within a year, he is able to supervise a situation where 27 dockets and another 40 cases are being looked into by EOCO.”
He said investigations have already led to arrests, prosecutions and asset seizures.
“He has been able to get 140 people and beyond and seized assets worth 1.5 billion Ghana cedis with quite a number of people standing trial.”
According to him, once cases are filed in court, the pace of proceedings is determined by the judiciary and not the executive.
“When a case goes to court, not Mr Dumelovo or any of the critics can determine how the judge conducts the case.”
He stressed that the government cannot interfere with the courts’ work.
“It is not the submission of the individuals saying this, I would imagine that we should manipulate the judiciary to achieve certain political things that government cannot do.”
Mr Kwakye Ofosu said the government’s responsibility is to build strong cases and present them to the courts.
“What government can do is to build a case, gather sufficient evidence and then go to court to convince the court that this individual or that individual has committed this crime.”
“For which reason this punishment ought to be meted out, and where we find any assets involved, we retrieve it for the benefit of the case.”
He acknowledged that delays in the judicial system are a long-standing concern.
“Of course, are we all frustrated about the pace of work of the Ghanaian judiciary? It is a long-standing criticism against the Ghanaian judiciary.”
However, he insisted that the executive cannot control the speed at which judges handle cases.
“As for the fact that government can dictate the pace of cases being handled by a court or a judge, that one is beyond its capacity.”
He said the reintroduction of the tribunal system is one of the measures government is pursuing to address the issue.
“So a lot is happening in that regard.”
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com