ABOUT five months ago, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) abandoned work on its office complex because the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) stopped it from continuing the work on it.
The AMA on July 16, 2019 ordered the contractor who was erecting the wall around the office complex to “stop work and produce permit”.
This action has stalled work on the office complex and left the OSP without an office. The office complex was allocated to the OSP in October 2018 as its permanent office.
The allocation came after the Special Prosecutor; Mr Martin Buras Kaiser Alamisi Amidu publicly complained that since his appointment in February 2018, his office has not been sufficiently resourced to effectively deliver on its mandate.
Following his complaint, the office complex located on the Gamel Abdul Nasser Avenue at Ridge in Accra, was allocated to it to facilitate its work.
Unfortunately five months after the allocation of the complex work on the edifice has stalled.
According to the Board Chairman of OSP, Madam Linda Ofori Kwafo, plans to move into the office complex has been put on hold.
“The conversation for the allocation of OSP to the facility has not been resolved. The plans have changed so we are considering some other facility where the office will relocate to,” Madam Ofori Kwafo told the Ghanaian Times in an interview.
It is unfortunate that since October 2018, the OSP has not found a permanent office to operate from and continue to search for a suitable place to occupy.
We are perplexed that the OSP could also not furnish the AMA with the necessary documents they required so that work on the complex would be completed.
It is also baffling that the AMA and the OSP could not resolve a simple matter of ‘permit’ to allow the contractor to work on the office complex.
The question we ask is; for how long will the OSP continue to operate from a temporal office in Labone?
There is a high expectation of the work of the OSP and the public is beginning to ask questions about its performance since it was established.
One of its challenges is a befitting office to operate from and lack of it is likely to affect its performance.
We, therefore, call on the OSP and the AMA, to resolve the issue of ‘permit’ so that the contractor can move back to site and complete the work. Alternatively, a new office should be found quickly for the OSP to move into in order to carry out its mandate.
