By J. A. Sarbah
In Ghana, value for money is not just an accounting principle; it’s a moral obligation. And, in public governance, institutions must justify their budgets not by founding dreams but by results. By that measure, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), under Kissi Agyebeng, is fast becoming a national disappointment.
Launched with public hope and legislative muscle, the OSP was supposed to jail the untouchables, recover stolen funds, and break Ghana’s corruption culture. Today, it stands as a high-cost, low-impact bureaucracy that is more style than substance.
Over GHS 400 million in setup capital and an estimated GHS 350 million in recurrent spending has been pumped into the OSP. It employs over 300 staff, occupies a modern tower complex, and enjoys independent powers. Yet, where are the results?
No landmark convictions or major asset recoveries recorded so far. There is no deterrent effect. Instead, the looting class has grown bolder – outpacing a slow, distracted, PR-obsessed OSP.
Worse still, under Agyebeng, the OSP has become a fiscal drain. Lavish foreign trips, first-class flights, 5-star hotel stays, fat per diems, and bloated security convoys have defined the institution more than courtroom victories. In nearly six years of his appointment, it is unclear if the SP has recovered even $2 million – in a country losing an estimated $11 billion annually to corruption.
What has Ghanaians witnessed instead?
Arrests without airtight evidence.
Press conferences without follow-through.
Selective leaks, media drama, and silence on politically protected offenders.
This is not how anti-corruption agencies work. The OSP has becoming an expensive political experiment, not worth sustaining.
And it matters. Because every cedi wasted on a non-performing OSP is a cedi denied to broken hospitals, unpaid nurses, abandoned school blocks, and potholed roads. In this economy, waste isn’t abstract – it’s a practical daily ritual.
This is not an attack on the OSP’s idea. Ghana desperately needs a fearless, independent anti-corruption agency. But, the current OSP lacks credibility, performance, and prosecutorial discipline.
If it won’t prosecute the real hyenas, why keep feeding it?
No agency, no matter how noble its origins, is above performance metrics, fiscal scrutiny, or civic interrogation. Fighting graft is not by issuing a press statement that dagger reputations needlessly. It is a result-driven enterprise grouded in law not PR.
Are we paying for a real anti-corruption war, or we are just performing Kantata for the cameras?
J. A. Sarbah | PP Firebrand | VoNC
