Ghana: Charge Special Development Initiative Coordinator With Corruption … Martin Kpebu to Osp

A Private legal practitioner, Mr Martin Kpebu, has urged the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, to charge the Coordinator for Special Development Initiatives, Napaga Tia Sulemana, with corruption.

Mr Kpebu’s call followed the corruption offences charged against the Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority (NDA), Mr Sumaila Abdul-Rahman and his two deputies, Stephen Yir-eru Engmen in charge of Operations, and Mr Patrick Seidu, Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Finance and Administration.

Responding to the action taken by the Special Prosecutor, the legal practitioner believed some officials at the presidency who were in charge of the Special Development Initiatives must face charges as well.

He alleged that these officials exhibited negligence in the discharge of their duties.

“So Napaga Tia at the office of the President, the Coordinator of the Special Development Initiatives, I think she should have been charged as well, then the Director of Budget, because it means that minimum if we cannot prove that they are intentionally involved, then it means they were being negligent.

“Because you’ve seen we do not have much money, somebody brings you a PV in millions of Ghana cedis to approve and you just approve.

You do not ask for the document, that’s assuming you are not involved, you did not know,” he told JoyNews.

Mr Andrew Kuundaari, the Chief Executive of A&QS Consortium Limited, a private consultancy firm was also charged with the three officials.

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They have all been charged with conspiracy to directly or indirectly influence the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract.

The four persons will be arraigned before the High Court (Criminal Division), Tamale on Tuesday, January 31, 2023.

The accused, individually face various additional charges relating to the outcome of an investigation by the OSP into a complaint of suspected corruption and corruption-related offences against the NDA and A&QS Consortium Limited operating from Wa in the Upper West Region.

Mr Martin Kpebu had earlier petitioned the Special Prosecutor to investigate accusations of irregularities at the NDA.

The private legal practitioner called on the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, to launch a full-blown investigation into the development.

“In the circumstances, kindly investigate the cases presented above in accordance with your mandate as by law stipulated in the Office of Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) to save mother Ghana the millions of Ghana cedis we risk losing,” he said in his petition.