Alban Bagbin: OSP budget not justified without results

Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has expressed strong concerns over the continuous allocation of large budgetary resources to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), describing the spending as unjustifiable given the office’s performance.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, December 4, during deliberations on the OSP’s budget, Speaker Bagbin reminded lawmakers of earlier warnings about the office’s legal foundation and effectiveness.
“There are some agencies, this morning, I heard you talking about one of them, that is the OSP. And if you recall, during the deliberation on the OSP, a number of us stated on the floor of this House that there's no constitutional basis, but we wanted to signal to the world that we are going to fight corruption,” he said.

He noted that despite the initial goodwill surrounding the OSP’s establishment, its performance has not matched the significant investment made.
“At the end of the day, we have seen the results, and we cannot continue to allocate those huge sums to the same office when we are not getting the results," he said.

He further highlighted the disproportionate funding, saying "This is one of the agencies we should be looking at. It is getting almost the same amount as the Attorney General's Department."

The Speaker urged Members of Parliament to address the issue directly to ensure effective use of public funds.
“Please, let's face the bull by the horns and make sure the right thing is done. And so I agree with the Majority leader and as we go through this, the Minister for Finance….I think the Majority leader will take note of it and apprise them of the discussions,” he said.

Bagbin also welcomed the decision to hold a committee-of-the-whole or closed sitting to resolve major outstanding concerns, describing the move as timely.
“It's very, very important that as a House, we cannot continue to be failing the good people of Ghana. If we do our work well, we'll be able to curb corruption."

"We'll be able to hold the executive to account for a stewardship, not only in terms of money, but in terms of the trust, the trust that the people repose in leadership,” he added.