Trust anti-corruption institutions to perform their mandate – Vitus Azeem

Anti-Corruption Crusader, Vitus Azeem says institutions tasked with investigating corruption and its related activities should be allowed to carry out their duties without interference.

According to him, for democracy to function effectively, institutions are established to uphold law and order. When these institutions present their findings, it is the public’s responsibility to accept them.

Mr. Azeem further stated that if anyone has a different opinion, they should take the matter to a higher authority rather than attempting to undermine the work of these institutions.

“We are in a democracy and we have set up appropriate institutions to deal with relevant issues and enforcement of the law and so we may have our reservations to make but when they come up with their reports, we have no choice but to accept it.

“If we don’t accept it and there is an escalation of the matter to the highest authority, then we go up there. For now, I think unless there is someone who doesn’t agree and wants to take it up with a different authority, the matter has been brought to an end,” he said on JoyNews Newsfile on August 10.

His comments come on the back of the Director of Legal Affairs for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gary Nimako’s claim that former President John Mahama and his brother’s involvement in the Airbus deal constitutes a conflict of interest.

According to him, then-Vice President Mahama’s decision to close a government procurement deal with a company where his brother was an agent is enough to suggest a conflict of interest and should be investigated by the relevant authorities.

But Mr Azeem clarified that, the Special Prosecutor has often lost cases in court because he did not have access to the necessary dockets.

Therefore, for him (Kissi Agyebeng) to announce that Mr Mahama was not involved in bribery suggests that he must have ensured due diligence.

On August 8, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) named former President John Dramani Mahama as the individual referred to as ‘Government official 1’ in the Airbus bribery scandal. The OSP, however, clarified that there is nothing to show that he was paid any bribes.

This conclusion, according to Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng, follows extensive investigation spanning four years by his office.

Addressing the media involved in Accra, Mr. Agyebeng explained that the investigation into the scandal and the revelation of the identities of the persons were necessary due to the public interest in the issue.

“The individual described as Government Official One by the UK court and Individual One by the US court is John Dramani Mahama. He is a citizen of Ghana, he was the Vice President of Ghana from 7th January 2009 to 2012. The President of Ghana from 2012 to 7th January 2017. His tenure of office as the Vice President coincides with the time-frame of the UK and US investigation of the first airbus campaign into the sale of 2C295 aircraft to Ghana.

“His term of office as the President of Ghana occurred during the UK-US investigation time frame of the second airbus campaign for the sale of 1C29 aircraft to Ghana.”

Source: Myjoyonline.com

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