Founding President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has sharply criticised the government’s handling of efforts to retrieve stolen funds from the National Service Scheme (NSS) scandal, describing the current approach as weak and inefficient.
His comments follow recent revelations by Deputy Attorney General Srem-Sai, who disclosed that one of the suspects has offered to voluntarily return GH₵560,000 as part of restitution.
In a post on Facebook sighted by MyNewsGh, Cudjoe questioned why the suspects are being allowed to dictate the terms of repayment, calling for a more robust and structured legal process to recover state funds.
“How are they the ones to dictate how much they are willing to return? This is NOT an optimal approach!” he fumed.
Cudjoe recommended a more effective method involving civil action or the intervention of the Auditor-General.
“At the least, initiate civil action in court or even better get the Auditor-General to conduct a review or special limited audit in record time on all suspects, then surcharge them,” he suggested.
According to him, if the suspects fail to contest the surcharges within 60 days, the law requires that they comply—which could lead to seizure of assets and potential jail terms.
“If after 60 days, they are unable to contest the amounts, they are compelled by law to do so, which includes attachments of their properties, whilst of course jail time should be lurking in the shadows.”
Franklin Cudjoe ended his statement with a nostalgic call for the return of former Auditor-General Daniel Yaw Domelevo, known for his firm stance on public accountability.
“Where is Daniel Yaw Domelevo when it matters, to teach our new kids on the block how to chase looters?”
He concluded with a direct plea to President John Dramani Mahama: “We need to recover the loot please, Mr. President.”
