Parliament has finally passed the Office of the Special Prosecutor bill which will allow for the establishment of an independent anti-corruption institution to deal with public officials who have been deemed or found liable to corrupt dealings.
The Bill was passed amidst controversy over whether the prospective Special Prosecutor should be immuned from prosecution.
The government was racing against time to have the bill passed ahead of the reading of the 2018 Budget statement which has been scheduled for tomorrow.
Without the passage of the Bill it would have been impossible for the government to allocate funds for an office which is not recognized by law.
With the passage of the bill out of the way, government is now free to appoint an independent prosecutor and more importantly allocate resources for the office.
The passage of the bill was not without any controversy.
Over 170 amendments were made Tuesday, to the Bill that will give power to a new independent prosecutor who will be tasked with the responsibility of prosecuting past and present public officers deemed to have been corrupt.
More to follow…
