Majority Chief Whip and South Dayi MP Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor has called on Parliament to distance itself from any direct investigation into the alleged bribery scandal surrounding the AKSA power deal.
He said the matter should instead be handled by relevant state institutions, supported by a carefully constituted team of experts and civil society representatives to establish the facts.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, August 15, Mr Dafeamekpor said Parliament’s involvement could raise concerns about a potential conflict of interest, given its role in approving public contracts and overseeing government business.
“As for Parliament, it should distance itself. As a committee of inquiry. Yes,” he said.
He proposed a team comprising representatives from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), the Attorney-General’s Office, the judiciary and relevant civil society organisations.
“We should have a team from OSP because they’ve been in the middle of the matter already; OSP, perhaps some senior lawyers from the Office of the Attorney General, a judge, and maybe one or two experts from within CSOs, relevant CSOs, to look into this,” he said.
According to Mr Dafeamekpor, such an arrangement would allow investigators to build on information already gathered by state institutions instead of starting the investigation from scratch.
He noted that the OSP had indicated that it provided assistance to US authorities investigating aspects of the matter, suggesting that relevant information could already be available.
“The OSP has indicated clearly and has been acknowledged that they provided some tremendous assistance. So, there should be some material available in this matter,” he said.
Mr Dafeamekpor added that the Attorney-General’s Office and the OSP appeared to have been working together on the matter.
“At a glance, two agencies have been working in tandem with the Attorney General to deal with it. So, that should be good news for us,” he said.
His comments come amid renewed scrutiny of the AKSA power transaction following allegations of bribery involving former Goldman Sachs banker Asante Kwaku Berko in connection with the deal.
The allegations have renewed calls for Ghana to establish whether public officials were compromised in the transaction and whether any laws or procedures were breached.
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