Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has raised fresh concerns over the integrity of the recruitment process at the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), alleging that employees who were not properly vetted may have been placed on the payroll through fraudulent and corrupt means.
In an open letter sighted by MyNewsGH, Amidu recounted his own experiences with rigorous security vetting processes, emphasizing the crucial role of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), now the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), in ensuring that public officials are thoroughly scrutinized before taking office.
“I remember that in February 2018 a nephew of mine called from Kadema, my parents’ home village, to say that some people came to the homestead to ask questions about me, saying they were from Sandema. It turned out that it was the BNI from Sandema acting on instructions from Accra.
“I had been vetted several times for Ministerial appointment since 1993, yet there was the BNI going to Kadema where nobody knew me well instead of to Bawku, where I grew up and had my father’s immediate family home.
But that shows how serious they take their job to keep public institutions safe from ex-convicts and bad characters.”
Amidu, who founded and operationalized the OSP as the first Special Prosecutor, highlighted how he had relied on seconded staff from other public institutions to comply with constitutional recruitment guidelines.
“However, he ensured that these employees underwent strict vetting procedures to maintain the integrity of the office.
“When I founded and operationalized the OSP as the Special Prosecutor, I had to use seconded staff from other public institutions in order not to contravene the 1992 Constitution on recruitment and to be within Section 21 of Act 959.
Nonetheless, as seconded employees, I requested the BNI to vet them, which was thoroughly done.”
His primary concern lies in the current recruitment process at the OSP, where he suggests that employees may have been added to the payroll without undergoing proper vetting.
“Any fresh employee who has not been vetted for recruitment, to pass his probation and confirmation of his appointment, can only be placed on the OSP payroll fraudulently and through corruption involving the OSP, the Accountant-General’s Department, and the Auditor-General’s Department.”
Amidu’s statement comes amid broader concerns about transparency and accountability in the fight against corruption. His claims raise questions about the credibility of the OSP’s current workforce and the effectiveness of the institution in upholding its anti-corruption mandate.
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