A Losing Battle: Ghana’s Anti-Corruption Guru Resigns
Citing political interference in the independence of his office, Ghana’s Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu has resigned, submitting a scathing letter of resignation to the country’s president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The text is damning. It occurs less than three weeks before scheduled general elections and must be weaponised by the various parties. However, voting behaviour rests more heavily on pocket and place, than principle.
Significance – anti-corruption constraints
Amidu’s appointment to head the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) in January 2018 raised many eyebrows. He had been a long-time member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) before being removed as Attorney General in 2012 over a disagreement with then President John Evans Atta Mills. He went on to become an ardent anti-corruption crusader, famously accusing the NDC of engaging in “gargantuan corruption” in 2016 and earning himself the nickname of Citizen Vigilante. At the time of his appointment, many were of the view that he was being brought in simply to undertake a witch hunt of NDC members from the previous government. However, since its establishment, the OSP and Amidu have faced a myriad of challenges:
They struggled to find an appropriate office space – they were allocated property by the government, but the building was demolished by city authorities over a lack of proper certification. They OSP currently operates from a converted 3-bedroom house.
A case against Amidu’s eligibility to hold public office due to his age went as far as the Supreme Court before being dismissed in May of this year. The case was brought by a former deputy Attorney General under the NDC and highlights the extent to which relations with his former party had deteriorated.
Government was slow in referring cases to the OSP, none in 2018 and only two cases were referred in 2019. This was put down to a lack of capacity both in terms of permanent staffing and adequate office space. Government had allocated GHS 188 million (USD 32 million) to the operations of the OSP though only just shy of GHS 29 million (USD4.9 million) has been disbursed today according to the Ministry of Finance[1].
The straw that seemingly broke the camel’s back was the treatment of Amidu over the release of the OSP’s report into a controversial mineral royalties arrangement, commonly known as Agyapa (in reference to one of the companies the deal sets up[2].
Having concluded a corruption risk assessment into the deal, Amidu concluded that there were corruption risks (and corrupt activities) related to the planned agreement including at the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the President. He claims that the president asked him to take no further investigative action for a week and then attempted to stifle his findings.
On the government side, a reaction from the communications director of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) says that Amidu’s report needed to be subjected to scrutiny and, at no point did anyone interfere with his investigation. The statement also claimed that Amidu was “walking away from a golden opportunity.”
Outlook – delay and voting patterns
There will be a lengthy delay before the appointment of a replacement Special Prosecutor, most definitely not before the elections and likely not until well in to 2021. The Agyapa Royalties deal will likely proceed as originally planned with minimal alteration to appease some civil society organisations.
Meanwhile, with general elections less than three weeks away, the two main parties will seek every avenue to politicise Amidu’s resignation. The NDC will point towards an administration that pays only lip service to fighting corruption whilst the NPP will highlight its creation of the OSP as evidence of their commitment to ending graft (among other reforms). The NPP will seek to frame Amidu’s resignation as a personal and political decision.
Whilst the development has many on Ghanaian social media pondering if an effective fight against corruption is ever feasible in Ghana, it is unlikely that it will influence the material outcome of the election. The majority of the electorate will be casting their votes based on the issues that they deem most significant for their day-to-day lives, and corruption at the highest level is not such a concern.
That said, Amidu was unshakable in his commitment to fighting corruption. Candidates to replace him who are similarly unstrung from a party affiliation, drive and fearless nature are few and far between if at all existent. In his resignation, an opportunity to reduce impunity amongst the political elite and instil accountability may just have escaped Ghana.
[1] https://www.mofep.gov.gh/sites/default/files/pbb-estimates/2020/2020-PBB-OSP.pdf
[2] Agyapa Mineral Royalties Ltd
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