Martin Amidu allocated GH¢180m to fight corruption

The government has allocated GH¢180 million to

This was made known by the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta when he delivered the 2019 budget to parliament on Thursday, 15 November.

He said the "government's promise to protect the public purse, His Excellency the President remains committed to the fight against corruption."

"In this budget, the Special Prosecutor's Office has been allocated an amount of GH¢180 million from GoG with a commitment to provide additional resources during the course of 2019 to enable the Special Prosecutor’s Office to carry out its mandate," he added.

In an article, the former Attorney General said his office has so far had "woefully inadequate" infrastructure and has been under-resourced since its establishment a year ago.

Amidu compared his situation to that of that of Acting Attorney General of the US Mathew Whitaker, insisting a lack of resources has left the Special Prosecutor's Office in an almost hopeless situation to fight corruption.

He said despite President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's sincere commitment to fighting corruption, government has done very little to support the Special Prosecutor's Office.

According to him, the office has so far lacked the resources to adequately deliver on its mandate.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor was established in November 2017 with a specific mandate to oversee cases of corruption, involving public officers and individuals in the private sector.

Many Ghanaians were upbeat following the appointment of Amidu as the country's first-ever Special Prosecutor.

Read the full 2019 budget statement: 2019 budget