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OSP disagrees with High Court decision
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has expressed dissent at a decision by the Financial Division of the Accra High Court on Thursday in rejecting its application for a freeze of the bank accounts of former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah.
“While the OSP respects the Court’s decision, it disagrees with the decision of the Court,” a press release on Thursday, August 31 stressed.
The OSP gave three cardinal reasons for its decision.
“First, the OSP believes that the Court’s computation of the time limitation is, with respect, erroneous,” it said, citing how operatives of the Office searched three private residences of Madam Abena Dapaah over a two-week period.
“Second, the seizure by the OSP and the Special Prosecutor’s freezing order were effectuated on the very firm basis of reasonable suspicion that the amounts and bank balances were tainted property as Ms Dapaah prevaricated as to the source(s) of the amounts she reported stolen from her residence, the amounts discovered by the OSP in her residence, and the volume of transactions in her bank accounts and investments.
“Third, the freezing order was not based on public sentiments,” it insisted, “rather, it was based on court processes filed in a criminal matter before the Circuit Court, Accra involving Ms Dapaah as the complainant.”
The OSP explained that further freezing of the accounts was to aid investigations as required by law “not on the basis of the investigation, as indicated by the Court”.
“Therefore, it cannot be said that the OSP did not carry out proper investigations to warrant the freezing order.”
This comes after the High Court rejected the OSP’s application, ordering it to return all seized assets of the former minister of state within seven days.
According to the Court, the action by the OSP was borne out of speculation and reaction to public sentiments, thus undertaking poor investigations subsequently.
It said there was no justifiable basis for the seizure of the property as the OSP entered the act wrongly.
The Court also found the OSP as having no reasonable grounds to freeze the bank accounts of the former Bantama Member of Parliament (MP).
Credit: 3news.com
Ghana Tourism Authority is leading Ghana’s participation at ITB Berlin, which opened in Berlin with a vibrant national pavilion highlighting Ghana’s rich cultural heritage, tourism destinations and investment opportunities.
March 5 has been designated as Ghana Day, a special platform to promote Ghana’s languages, cuisine, Kente, festivals and business prospects to the global tourism community. The stand has already drawn strong interest with traditional arts and crafts displays, immersive multimedia presentations and popular Ghanaian snacks.
Seven private-sector players are exhibiting alongside government officials as part of efforts to deepen trade partnerships, expand market access, and attract investment across the hospitality, heritage tourism, ecotourism, and creative arts sectors.
Ahead of the official opening, the Ghana delegation also engaged young Ghanaian investors in Germany in collaboration with V Afrika-Verein and the Ghana Embassy, strengthening diaspora investment linkages and highlighting opportunities within the tourism value chain.
Ghana’s coordinated presence at ITB Berlin 2026 reinforces its strategy to position the country as the Gateway to Africa and a competitive destination for leisure travel and global investment.
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
