Dr J. E. Oppong, a former Deputy Commissioner for the Commission on Civic Education, in his 1989 book, Revolutionary Song Book, has one of his songs titled ‘Put Ghana First’. The words and music of the song were written by Dr Oppong in 1980, but I find the words very relevant today.
Some of the words of the song are:
“Put Ghana first,
Put Ghana first before the tribe, Tribal hatred will only put us down
United we stand, divided we fall,…
Our motherland is going through a time of strain without compare
Hard times are here, recovery plans must be real tough, to save the land….
Ghana’s progress must be the goal, Put Ghana first.
From the words of this song, one could add that we need to put Ghana first before our individual selves. But the question is, how many of us Ghanaians put the country first before our individual comfort, luxury, and interests? Day in day out, we hear of people who have been honoured by the state and thus been entrusted with high public offices, and should have worked for the betterment of the nation and its citizens, rather using dubious means to syphon state funds into their personal accounts.
The disheartening aspect of this situation is that much as there has been a series of corrupt practices exhibited by persons in higher state positions, many of such persons are never prosecuted. A visit to any of our prisons would reveal that many of the inmates are those who stole a sheep, a bag of maize, a bunch of plantain, or engaged in petty stealing, sometimes because of hunger, with those who rob the nation of millions of cedis and foreign currency still walking free and exhibiting their ill-gotten affluence.
Creation of CHRAJ
Perhaps, it was the rise of these high-level robbery and corruption in state institutions and among some state officials that necessitated the creation of the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) by the 1992 Ghana Constitution. Under the first two commissioners of the institution, Justice Francis Emile Short and Ms Anna Bossman, particularly the former, Ghanaians felt the presence of the commission.
Though not many people agreed with the findings of some of the cases CHRAJ handled at that time, the commission still provided Ghanaians with a place where they could report certain crimes and injustices.
It is on this background that many Ghanaians were shocked by the Daily Graphic story of Tuesday, September 16, that revealed how Ms Loretta Vivian Lamptey, the CHRAJ Commissioner, who is to ensure administrative justice, seems to have acted against the mission of her own Rent institution.
Ms Lamptey lived in a US$5,500-a-month apartment for the last three years while her official residence was being renovated. This means that for the last three years, the taxpayer has paid a total of US$203,500 just for her rent. With the expiry of the tenancy agreement last month, Ms Lamptey has moved into a hotel that cost me and other taxpayers US$456.25 a day (US$13,687.50 a month) and she has three of the commission’s vehicles at her disposal.
According to the Daily Graphic story, at Ms Lamptey’s own instance, and not based on any assessment and recommendation by the respective state institutions responsible for official residences, several variations are being made on the official residence built only 10 years ago and occupied by only one person (Justice Short) before her. Justice Short says the residence was in perfect condition before he left it.
Day in day out, we hear of people who have been honoured by the state and thus been entrusted with high public offices, and should have worked for the betterment of the nation and its citizens, rather using dubious means to syphon state funds into their personal accounts.
A few questions for Ms Lamptey who is said to have claimed that she did not own any house in Ghana. If the house under renovation were hers, would she have waited for the work to go on for three years? If she were to pay her own rent, would she have rented a US$5,500-a-month house? If she were paying from her own resources, would she have lodged in a US$456.25-a-day hotel?
Administratively, does Ms Lamptey have the powers to order the renovation of any state building without recourse to any institution or authority?
Surprisingly, while Ms Lamptey and her commission seem not to have done anything at all for Ghanaians since she took over, she defends her long absence from her seat by saying it is due to her “frequent international trips.” What has been the benefit of these ‘frequent international trips’ to Ghana and Ghanaians? While she has not impacted on Ghanaians in any way so far, doesn’t she feel any shame for engaging in numerous international trips at the expense of the state?
Constitutional provisions
Article 228 of the 1992 Constitution stipulates that “The procedure for the removal of the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner shall be the same as that provided for the removal of a Justice of the Court of Appeal and a Justice of the High Court respectively under article 146 of the Constitution”, but the vagueness of Article 146 (1) gives some semblance of metal-fenced protection to Ms Lamptey.
Article 146 (1) says: “A Justice of the Superior Court or a Chairman of a Regional Tribunal shall not be removed from office except for stated misbehaviour or incompetence or on ground of inability to perform the functions of his office arising from infirmity of body or mind.”
We need to wait for constitutional lawyers to give us an interpretation of “stated misbehaviour or incompetence” taking into consideration actions of Ms Lamptey. Until that is made clear, no one can sack her. But dear reader, remember that resignation is not in the vocabulary of Ghana’s state officials, especially when they realise that vague laws like Article 146 (1) were made for them. So Ms Lamptey will go nowhere, no matter how much noise we make.
Ms Loretta Vivian Lamptey is one of the women in top positions in Ghana that I had admired since her appointment. She looks decent and I had looked forward to seeing her fight for Ghanaians with her commission as Justice Short and Anna Bossman before her did. But I’m devastated by her seemingly insensitivity to the plight of Ghanaians, some of whom sleep in the open on the overhead pedestrian bridge at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. Some Ghanaians even fight with cows for drinking water in the north.
It is our considered opinion that it is time for certain sections of our constitution to be looked at again and the necessary amendments made to put Ghana first.
PS: Is the Ghana Police Service being responsive to the citizenry or it believes it is above the law? What about its Public Relations Department? This is the 35th week this column has sought answers from the Inspector-General of Police over the unlawful killing of Adjei Akpor, the 22-year-old man his men killed at Adenta on January 6, 2014 but both the IGP and the Police Service have not deemed it fit to respond, neither has the service instituted any enquiry. The widow and children of the deceased deserve justice and we shall continue with this fight until the IGP and his service respond to the public. One lawyer has graciously offered to take up this case, but the family needs funding for the court fees. Meanwhile, we still await other human rights lawyers to join in fighting this case for the defenceless family, as well as philanthropists to donate to cater for the court filing and other fees.
The author is a Journalist and Political Scientist. He is the Head of the Department of Media and Communication Studies, Pentecost University College, Accra. -
