President John Dramani Mahama has charged the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to take decisive steps to enhance public confidence in its operations and deliver effectively on its mandate.

He stressed that the office must confront corruption transparently and robustly, in line with the objectives for which it was originally established.

The OSP, created under the administration of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, serves as a cornerstone of Ghana’s anti-corruption framework. It is currently led by Kissi Agyebeng, who has faced public scrutiny over perceived limitations in prosecuting alleged corrupt officials. His predecessor, Martin Amidu, similarly encountered challenges, including alleged institutional interference and limited funding. 

With President Mahama’s Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) — an initiative aimed at recovering misappropriated state funds and assets — underway, the effectiveness and credibility of the OSP are central to restoring trust and ensuring the success of the country’s renewed anti-corruption efforts towards economic recovery.

Following recent hot speculations that the OSP would be formally scrapped, President John Dramani Mahama has, today, Thursday, December 11, 2025, formally requested that the Majority Leader and the Majority Chief Whip in Parliament withdraw the Private Member’s Bill seeking to repeal the Act establishing the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

In a statement, the Jubilee House said the request underscored the president’s commitment to reinforcing the OSP as a central institution in Ghana’s fight against corruption. The call emphasises Mahama's stance during a meeting with the Peace Council on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, where he defended the OSP, highlighting it needed reforms and reinforcement to function optimally, amid calls for the office's closure. 

Some political and academic figures have long held that the establishment of the OSP was redundant given the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice.

Dr Joshua Jebuntie Zaato, a political science lecturer at the University of Ghana (UG), recently called for the scrapping of the OSP, arguing that the institution had outlived its usefulness. He said the OSP's resources would be better spent if it were channeled into developmental projects like governments road-centred Big Push initiative.

Speaker of Parliament Alban S.K. Bagbin during a 2023 parliamentary session remarked, “As for the law you passed on the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor, I did tell you that it was an act in futility, you were not going to achieve anything but you went ahead and passed it.” 

He spoke during the consideration of the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values bill 2021.