Ford gift: CHRAJ's conclusions problematic - Emile Short (audio)
A former Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Justice Emile Short has said the report by CHRAJ on the ford gift to President John Mahama was problematic.
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According to him the decision sends a wrong signal since the conclusions were problematic.
In a radio interview Joy FM Friday morning, Justice Short expressed worry about what CHRAJ’s decision might mean to ministers and other public office holders who may be faced with a similar situation where contractors and other persons offer them gifts.
“My concern is what sort of signal does it send to the ministers, say the roads and highways Minister who might be dealing with contractors - whether foreign or domestic - and when they are confronted with a situation where they are offered a gift in the course of the performance of their official functions, how they are to deal with such a situation,” he said.
“If the decision of the Commission is to be accepted at face value, does it really send the right signal to minters and other public office holders as to how they should deal with the question of gifts” he asked.
Listen to Justice Short's interview with Joy FM here
{mp3}ford_gift_saga_emile_short{/mp3}
Justice Short who was commenting the report by CHRAJ that cleared President Mahama of accusations of conflict of interest, bribery and fraud after he accepted a gift from a Burkinabe contractor, Jibril Kanazoe in 2012.
According to Mr Short, although the Commission referred to Article 374 which provides guidelines for the disposal of prohibited gifts, it forgot that part of the section also states that gifts which should not be accepted must be politely declined or immediately returned to the sender.
“If delivered without prior notice, alternatively the official should pay the market value of the gift. When it is not possible to return the gift, the item should be given to an appropriate charity,” he quoted the rules as saying.
He indicated that while all this has been stated in the article, the Commission failed to take the recommended action in the instant case.
“However the Commission went on to say that having reviewed the evidence, by the actions or conduct of the respondent after the gift was made, the Commission is satisfied that his actions and conduct sufficiently dealt with any conflict of interest that could have been occasioned,” Justice Short related.
Read also: Not every gift is bribe — Emile Short
He also queried the inability of the Commission to refer to the president’s code of conduct which states in Section 144 that they should avoid the creation or appearance of obligation and gift in cash or kind are not to be solicited or accepted from a commercial enterprise or any other organization.
“So the president’s code of ethics imposes a complete prohibition on his ministers to accept gifts in cash or kind from a commercial enterprise or any other organization.”
He further indicated that the Commission should have as part of its investigation, taken into account the relationship between the president and the contractor, especially since the issue would not have come to light if Joy News' Manasseh Azure Awuni had not investigated and reported it.
“It is obviously a relevant factor which should have been considered,” he stressed.
Read also: CHRAJ clears Mahama of bribery allegation on ford
Related: Petitioners say it’s cover-up , Mahama welcomes ruling
