The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), in collaboration with the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) and its partners, organized a Media Awareness Workshop on "Electoral Corruption Offences and Sanctions."
The event took place on 7 February 2024, at Fiesta Royale Hotel in Accra.
A total of 64 participants attended the program, with a majority being media personnel. The public institutions featured in the workshop were the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO).
The OSP presentation, led by Director for Strategy, Research, and Communication, Samuel Appiah Darko, specifically addressed electoral corruption offenses falling within the OSP's jurisdiction. Mr. Appiah Darko took a deliberate approach in explaining the range of offenses the Office is mandated to pursue, distinguishing them from those outside the OSP's purview.
He also highlighted the four-fold mandate of the Office; “To curb corruption, our focus is on both prevention and, when corruption arises, conducting thorough investigations and prosecutions. Upon successful prosecution, our aim is to recover the ill-gotten gains from corruption. It's important to note that while many Ghanaians tend to label any wrongdoing by politicians as corruption, the OSP is specifically tasked with investigating defined instances of corruption. Other cases fall within the purview of the Police, EOCO, NIB, and other state institutions” he noted.
Mr. Appiah Darko underscored the need to prevent misconceptions about the OSP's efficacy and encouraged the media to play a role in educating the public so they do not think that the OSP has failed or is not working.