Special Prosecutor allegedly rejects insufficient GH¢20,000 salary – Report

Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng allegedly rejected a GH¢20,000 salary government wanted to pay as his salary because the amount was too small.

A report by the nynewsgh.com portal states that Agyebeng is therefore demanding a personal salary and series of allowances more befitting of his status until which time he is refusing to take what was offered him by government.

This development comes months after it emerged that staff of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) have not been paid salaries for months.

The report claimed, citing unnamed government sources, that the issue of delayed payment of staff was borne out of the fact that the OSP undertook recruitment illegally without recourse to laid down procedures.

In some cases, the SP allegedly ported staff from his private law firm Cromwell Gray LLC without recourse to due process and the appropriate approvals. The SP then placed these staff at promotional and salary grades suitable to his discretion.

The government has since demanded the anomalies be rectified while the OSP has been told he will only be paid salaries approved by the Public Service Commission and not what “befits” his status.

Government believes the unilateral appointment of permanent staff to the Office of the Special Prosecutor contrary without approval from the Board, the public service commission and without transparency and competitiveness runs contrary to Section 21 of Act 959 and Article 195 of the 1992 Constitution.

Special Prosecutor attacks government

The Special Prosecutor has been on an offensive against government, first allegedly leaking the non-payment of his salaries and gratuities to the press and second, criticizing the government’s fight against corruption.

The SP Kissi Agyebeng said the government of President Akufo-Addo is not serious in the fight against corruption.

The SP questioned the commitment of the government in the fight against corruption when he spoke on the third edition of the Joy Change-Speakers Series on NewsFile on Joy News monitored by MyNewsGh.com two days ago.

“On the part of the government, is the government ready for the fight against corruption? From where I sit, I have not seen much. I have not seen much commitment. I have heard lip service on too many occasions paid to the fight against corruption”, he stated on Saturday.

Government believes the SP is trying to blackmail government to pay him salaries above what he is supposed to be paid.