The Director of Strategy, Research and Communications at the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), Samuel Appiah Darko, says the office’s intervention has helped reduce corruption within the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The Director of Strategy, Research and Communications at the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), Samuel Appiah Darko, says the office’s intervention has helped reduce corruption within the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, August 29, Mr Appiah Darko said the OSP was undertaking significant anti-corruption work that was not always publicised.
He cited the sanitisation of vehicle auction processes within the Customs Division as one of the OSP’s notable interventions.
According to him, the OSP received a report alleging that some customs officers were manipulating vehicle auctions for personal financial gain. The office subsequently investigated the matter and intervened to address the reported irregularities.
Mr Appiah Darko said the intervention had helped sanitise the auction system and minimise opportunities for corruption within the division.
“If you go to the Customs Division, in the past you would hear a lot of wrong about auction vehicles, now it is reduced. It is the work of the OSP. We had to change the benchmark value that was given to Customs Officials, the opportunity to be able to engage in corruption and all that; the OSP is the one that brought all these things to an end through the work we did in the Labianca case and all that,” he said.
He argued that the impact of the OSP should not be assessed solely by the cases or investigations it announces publicly, as some of its work involves behind-the-scenes interventions aimed at preventing corruption.
He, therefore, rejected claims that the OSP was doing little to combat corruption, insisting that the office continued to deliver results across various public institutions.
