CHRAJ boss must resign immediately
The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has asked the Commissioner for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Ms. Lauretta Vivian Lamptey,) to resign immediately to salvage the sinking image of the Commission and in the interest of the national fight against corruption.
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Below is a statement issued by the anti-corruption body on Wednesday.
GHANA INTEGRITY INITIATIVE CALLS ON THE COMMISSIONER OF THE COMMISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE JUSTICE (CHRAJ) TO RESIGN IMMEDIATELY.
At its Annual Membership Meeting (AMM), held on December 12, 2014 in the Conference Hall of the Baptist House near the Abelenkpe Traffic Lights, the members of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) unanimously resolved to call on the Commissioner for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Ms. Lauretta Vivian Lamptey,) to resign immediately to salvage the sinking image of the Commission and in the interest of the national fight against corruption.
The members of GII are men and women of integrity who believe in the values and principles of GII, especially in the condemnation of, and the fight against, corruption. The membership is made up of religious leaders, academics and civil society representatives, some of whom have moved into government positions in the last two years due to their commitment to serve the nation and condemn corruption.
It will be recalled that in September, the news broke out that the CHRAJ Commissioner had stayed in a house in the AU Village at a cost of US$4,500.00 a month for 37 months (totaling $166,500.00) following her appointment and subsequently, when the lease expired, had moved into a hotel at a cost of with her family where she is being charged the equivalent of US$456.25 a day, insisting that she is entitled to accommodation from the state. However, the Commissioner has spent all this period renovating the state provided duty post accommodation to suit her taste also at a cost of GHS182, 000.00 to the State. Sadly, some government officials, including both politicians and public servants, jumped to her defence, admitting that it was not strange as other public officials were doing the same or would fall into the same trap tomorrow.
In public interviews the Commissioner explained that the reason for staying in expensive housing at AU village and in the hotel was because she was entitled to accommodation from the state and that her duty post accommodation was being renovated. Press reports allege that renovation of the Commissioner’s duty post accommodation has been largely delayed because it is being done to suit her tastes and at an exorbitant cost of GHS 182,000.00 to the state. In calling for her resignation GII wishes to emphasize that there is a difference between ethics of public officials, which rests on morality, and legality (whether explicit laws of the state have been broken). The crusade against corruption is as much an ethical and moral one as it is also a legal one.
The fact that the Commissioner is entitled to accommodation provided by the state does not mean that she should ignore the propriety of considering the costs of such accommodation in view of the needs of CHRAJ as an organization or that she should ignore the concerns of the general public and continue to stay in an expensive hotel with her family at the cost of the state.
We are aware that the Chief Justice has established that there is a prima facie case against the Commissioner and has therefore initiated formal investigations into the issue. The call for the Commissioner to stand down is not intended to prejudice the legal case. We think that in spite of the formal investigation, the honourable thing to do to save the sinking image of the country’s foremost anti-corruption state institution is for her to resign.
The head of a human rights and anti-corruption institution must be seen to have impeccable integrity in order to build public confidence in the institution and to carry the public along in its crusade against the canker of corruption that is devastating this nation. We believe that those who fight corruption must not be corrupt themselves, nor be perceived as corrupt.
We note that this is not the first time the integrity of Ms. Lamptey has been publically questioned. In 2012, when she was first appointed as Head of CHRAJ, it took public pressure to force her to resign from her board position at the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB). And despite the fact that CHRAJ had published conflict of interest guidelines all public officials were expected to live up to, the possible conflict of interest situation likely to arise from her dual role as board member of the GCB and Head of CHRAJ, was lost on her. GII calls for proper investigations into the background of appointees to key positions, especially positions to independent constitutional bodies such as CHRAJ, the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), and the Judiciary, which prescribe long-term tenure and independence in their work. GII wishes to use this opportunity to also call for a separate Anti-Corruption Commission that would be given adequate resources and the independence to carry out its duties and responsibilities of dealing with corruption. We advocate that the appointment of the head and management of this Commission be made up of a non-partisan Committee made up of persons of repute, representing the Executive, , Parliament (with representatives from both ruling and opposition parties), civil society and the private sector.
Signed by
Vitus Adaboo Azeem, Executive Director and Secretary to the AMM
