Former Attorney-General and Special Prosecutor, Martin A. B. K. Amidu, has taken a strong swipe at Attorney-General Dominic Ayine over his “boastful” revelation that he personally purchased six heavy-duty printers for the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO).
In his latest opinion piece, Amidu argued that Ayine’s gesture, made during a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing, represents not generosity but a blatant disregard for Ghana’s anti-corruption principles and the constitutional limits of ministerial conduct.
According to Amidu, there is no law in Ghana that allows a Minister of State to “provide charity” to an institution under their supervision. He stressed that such actions are not only irregular but constitute a serious conflict of interest, and open the door to corruption and abuse of office.
“Prima facie, commonsense should have told the PAC that there was something amiss with Dominic Ayine’s boastful declaration that he philanthropically donated his personal resources to fund six heavy-duty printers for a public institution,” Amidu wrote.
The former Special Prosecutor further explained that donations of this nature must be approved by the Minister of Finance under Section 15(b) of the EOCO Act, 2010 (Act 804). Any support given outside this legal provision, he said, is tainted with illegality.
Amidu warned that such acts blur the line between public service and personal influence, potentially undermining the independence of law enforcement institutions.
He concluded that while EOCO’s need for resources is understandable, personal sponsorship by a supervising minister sets a dangerous precedent for governance and public accountability.
“A minister’s role is to ensure lawful resourcing of institutions through budgetary processes, not through private charity that compromises integrity,” Amidu emphasized.
