Former President Jerry Rawlings has chastised the leadership of the opposition NDC over the neglect of Martin Amidu.
According to Jerry Rawlings, the neglect of Martin Amidu by erstwhile NDC government was harmful, and that he cannot comprehend why the NDC refused to tap into the knowledge of Martin Amidu which is now being exploited by the NPP.
Speaking at a Town Hall meeting of cadres and NDC activists at the Arts Centre in Accra on Saturday 17 March 2018 Jerry Rawlings said Martin Amidu’s in-depth knowledge on how to fight corruption should have been utilized.
“Now, they have appointed hard iron hands like Martin Amidu to be in charge of fighting corruption from that office [of Special Prosecutor] and some NDC people are angry. Their counterparts in NPP and other places are equally angry. What should that tell you? the evidence is there for everybody to see why we lost…Martin Amidu should have been used by us (NDC) but no [we didn’t] when he is an embodiment of what we stand for,"
Meanwhile, on February 23, 2018, Ghana’s first Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu was sworn in after the Parliament of Ghana approved of his nomination.
Purpose of the Special Prosecutor's Office
The Special Prosecutor is a specialized agency to investigate specific cases of corruption involving public officers, and politically exposed persons in the performance of their functions as well as individuals in the private sector implicated in the commission of corruption and prosecute these offences on the authority of the Attorney-General.
The office is independent of the Executive, which observers believe will allow it to adequately deal with corruption-related issues which have plagued past governments.
It is mandated to investigate and prosecute cases of alleged corruption under the Public Procurement Act 203 Act 63 and other corruption-related offences implicating public officers, political office holders and their accomplices in the public sector.
The Prosecutor will also be mandated to trace and recover the proceeds of corruption.