Broadcast Journalist and host of Good Evening Ghana on Metro TV Paul Adom Otchere, has backed the decision of former Deputy Attorney General Dr. Dominic Ayine, to challenge the nomination of Martin Amidu as the Special Prosecutor, due to his age.
According to him the matter, bordering the age of appointees who are not already public servants, had been a long-standing issue and that the attempt by Dr. Ayine to have it resolved once and for all is commendable.
Dr. Dominic Ayine on Monday February 12 2018, filed a suit at the Supreme Court to challenge the nomination of Martin Amidu for the position of Special Prosecutor.
In his suit, Dr. Ayine argued that Mr. Amidu, being 66 years of age, is too old to hold public office per what the constitution permits.
He is thus seeking a declaration from the Supreme Court that Mr. Amidu, “is not qualified or eligible to be nominated as the Special Prosecutor under Section 13(3) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2018 (Act 959).”
Despite the suit, Parliament’s Appointments Committee went ahead to vet Mr. Amidu on Tuesday, February 13, 2018, with the Chairman of the Committee, Joseph Osei Owusu, claiming that the House had not been served with any writ.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, Mr. Adom Otchere said he was surprised Dr. Ayine did not stop the committee from proceeding with the vetting, saying there is a precedent to that effect.
The broadcast journalist said he wondered why Dr. Ayine did not push for such a move “because he could have done that.”
“There is precedent for that in the J.H. Mensah and the Attorney General [case], an old case at the Supreme Court where the Minority in Parliament wanted to prevent Mr. Kwame Preprah the Finance Minister [then] from reading the budget because they felt that he had not been properly approved by Parliament. Now they served the writ to the Speaker in the morning of the budget and the Speaker withheld the budget.”
“It is a very important matter because that matter has never been really settled at the court level in terms of the people presidents appoint who are not ministers or deputy ministers, what kind of age are permissible and what kind of age is not permissible. So yes… I commend Ayine for attempting to regulate this issue once and for all,” he added.
Amidu’s performance
On Amidu’s performance at the Appointments Committee, Paul Adom Otchere said he performed creditably well saying “I get the sense that the people of Ghana are very happy with Martin Amidu.”
He also commended the Appointments Committee for asking research inclined questions on Amidu during the vetting on Tuesday.
“I think it was good, excellent. Many people are commending the parliamentarians, indicating that they had done some research especially by reading some of his epistles as he called them then, or articles. So that was commendable,” he added.
Dr. Dominic Ayine has said his lawsuit is not influenced by fear of prosecution as suggested.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Dr. Ayine, an appointee in the Mahama government, said such insinuations were without basis because prosecutorial powers were not limited to just the Special Prosecutor.
“…The reason is simply that it is not only Martin Amidu who can prosecute us. There are countless human beings that his excellency Nana Akufo Addo can appoint to prosecute us… The fact that he is a member of the party does not make him a repository of information about the dealings of our ministers and appointees. So it is pointless for anybody to start to think that we are afraid of him because he is coming from inside,” Dr. Ayine explained.
Aside from this, Dr. Ayine said the idea of Mr. Amidu as the Special Prosecutor was just over-hyped unnecessarily.
“…so why should we be afraid of Martin Amidu or any other person coming to be Special Prosecutor. This whole thing is over-hyped and that this whole thing about the fear of Amidu is not something we should be dwelling on.”
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Source: citifmonline.com
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This suit is going no where.... Atuguba and his colleagues at the supreme court will throw it out sharp.... NDC is scared of Amidu dealing with the NDC t.h.i.e.ves.... who were involved in SADA, GYEDA, Bus branding, SSNIT software deal and many more...
In s developed society this is known as ageism. You’re not permitted to discriminate (or attempt to discriminate) against a person because of their age. You’re not even permitted to ask someone at an interview for a job! And nobody can force you to write your year of birth on your CV. In fact, Human Resources is NOT permitted to query you about your age, your gender, your marital status. You are to employ the person according to their record, their work experience and the positive attributes he/she brings to the company. Paul Adom Otchere, and many others of his ilk, have forgotten that they too (if God permits ) will teach Amidu age! Thank God for social media. We will pull out his utterances when the time comes!
what is clearly not in doubt is that your suit was motivated by malice because why did you not raise the issue when he was initially announced as the nominee? The mitigating factors for his appointment far outweigh the aggravating factors of his age and anyone who watched the vetting would attest to the energy, passion and zeal Martin Amidu exuded that day. On the issue of age limits of public officers I think it is mired in controversy and lacks clarity in interpretation. If the President ,whose schedule is likely to be more excruciating and who can function without let or hindrance at 72 how does it make sense to suggest a 66 year-old who clearly exhibited boundless energy will be found short in performing as SP? There would be merit if this had to do with his competence,which with almost universal accord,no one can question.So to withdraw his nomination just because of a constitutional provision about age isn't meritorious but outright trivial and would deprive this nation of the benefits of his services. As there is a spirit behind every letter of law in the constitution the pertinent decision will be about whether at 66 he lacks the proper frame of mind and health to be able to effectively function as SP. As for your claim his nomination is over-hyped it is a matter of time before you find out. The hype was to show you how desperate Ghanaians are about tackling corruption . So if the euphoria did not catch up with you then perhaps you did not view corruption in the way Ghanaians do .The masses pay the heaviest price for corruption and not people like you who are at or once held privileged positions.
A public servant can not continue to work in the public service after attaining 60 or 65 years. My question is, what did the constitution says about contracting a professional to perform a special duties for a specific period of time, irrespective of his/her age in the public service? Eg . In some public universities , professionals (Lectures) over 70years are serving in these public institutions