The delegation, made up of four (4) members of Parliament and some parliamentary officers led by the Chairperson of the committee, Hon. Shaibu Mahama- Member of Parliament for Daboya/Mankarigu, paid a working visit to the Office.

 

The visit was to familiarize itself with the operations, activities and challenges of EOCO as part of their oversight mandate of examining issues pertaining to constitutional and legal matters and addressing matters related to the Office of the Attorney-General and the Ministry of Justice and other key related agencies.

 

This was stated by the Chairman Hon. Shaibu Mahama in his opening remarks, where he also indicated that it has been a long-standing practice that the Committee invites EOCO every year to present budgets and challenges to members. The Committee however wanted to take a further step to visit the Office instead. This they hoped would help create cordial working relations with the management of EOCO and ensure quick resolution of challenges as they may arise.

 

The Deputy Ranking Member of the Committee, Hon. Alhassan Tampuli Sulemana- Member of Parliament for Gushegu, concurring with the Chairman, indicated that the committee recognized that it was not enough to give budgetary allocations for the operation of the Office. He concluded that it was also expedient that the Committee visit to get a practical feel of operations and challenges including legislative bottlenecks that the Office faces in its day-to-day functions. This would make it easier to link them to the paperwork and reports it receives from the Office annually.

 

The Office delivered a presentation on its mandate, activities and some challenges that it faces. Some of these challenges, the Legal Officer-SO Sedina Gbeve indicated in her presentation, had been included in a proposed amendment to the Economic and Organised Crime Act (2010) Act 804.

 

Some of the amendments include retainment clauses for percentages of all recoveries made by the Office, a review of some time frames in the Act 804 including those pertaining to administrative freezing orders and a restructuring of how confiscations are made in cases where suspects pass away/ abscond before the start of a criminal trial.

Other major challenges, she indicated, included an inadequate budgetary allocation to the Office and the non-existence of Conditions of Service for staff of the Office. The amendment therefore seeks to tackle all these matters.

 

Hon. Shaibu Mahama, in response to the challenges indicated that the committee will take a look at the Bill when it comes before them and treat it as urgent. He further indicated that most of the proposals in the new Bill are laudable and have precedents so should not be hard to pass.

 

The Executive Director of EOCO, Mr. Raymond Archer, in his address, reiterated the gaps in the law and the practical challenges faced in the running of the Office.

Mr. Archer indicated that EOCO is a beautiful agency that can do so much for the nation if given the full support that can equip it to function to its full capacity. He buttressed this by adding that only within the first half of the year 2025, the Office has made a total recovery of about 110 Million Ghana Cedis even with the little it receives. He concluded that if given support by the government, the Office could rake in so much more and be better placed to effectively execute its mandate in the fight against economic and organised crime.

The other Members of Parliament present included Hon. James Enu, the Vice Chairman of the Committee and Member of Parliament for Tema West and Hon. Sanja Nanja- Member of Parliament for Atebubu/Amantin.