The Constitution and Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament on Thursday failed to reach a consensus on whether or not the Special Prosecutor Bill 2017, should be passed under a certificate of urgency.
Parliament on July 18, accepted the bill despite stiff opposition from the Minority which alleged there were some illegalities in the process of presenting the bill to the house.
Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Prof. Mike Oquaye referred the bill to the joint committees on Local Government and Rural Development and Finance for consideration and report to the House.
Speaking to journalists after the constitutional and legal affairs committee meeting, Minority spokesperson on Legal Affairs, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine said, the minority is in full support of the government's decision to bring a Special Prosecutor to help fight the endemic corruption in Ghana, however, procedural requirement should not be overlooked in the process.
Order 120 (1) of the Standing Orders of the House which is premised on Article 106 (2) of the Constitution states that “Except as provided in Orders 119 and 112 no Bill shall be introduced unless the text of the Bill, with no variations other than such as, in the opinion of the Parliamentary Draftsman, are of a trivial or drafting character, has been published in the Gazette fourteen days before the date of its introduction in the House.â€
The Minority said the bill was not gazetted as required and copies were not available for all members of the house when it came up for deliberations. The Majority the bill was not gazetted because it was brought to the house under a certificate of urgency, prompting a fierce argument from both sides of the house.
The Special Prosecutor Bill 2017 shall establish the Special Prosecutor’s Office,  a specialized Agency with powers and authority of the Attorney General to investigate cases of corruption and prosecute public and private officers implicated in corrupt activities.
Â
primenewsghana.com/Ghana News
Â