CHRAJ steps up fight against corruption
The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has stepped up the fight against corruption through execution of the tenets of the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP).
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Mr Joseph Akanjolenur Whittal, CHRAJ Commissioner, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra that the development of NACAP was an unqualified contribution to the fight against corruption and the promotion of national development.
He said the commission’s renewed vigour to fight corruption hinges on the strength of the NACAP wrapped up in its action plans, which were directly integrated into national development planning.
It also makes the fight against corruption an integral part of the regular annual activities of public institutions including the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
Mr Whittal described corruption as an insidious plague that has a wide range of corrosive effects on societies and added that “the commission would empower all other strategic stakeholders for a mass movement against corruption”.
Profile
Meanwhile, the profile of the new CHRAJ Commission obtained by the GNA indicated that Mr Whittal was appointed CHRAJ Commissioner in December 2016.
From 2012 to December 2016, he was the Deputy CHRAJ Commissioner and served as a Member of the Governing Council of the commission responsible for policy formulation and implementation and the strategic direction of the commission as an Independent Constitutional Body (ICB).
As a Deputy Commissioner he also had oversight responsibility over the Legal Department; Human Rights Department; Administrative Justice Department; Investigations Department and the Legal Registry and Complaints Units.
Investigations
Mr Whittal was responsible for the final approval and release of all decisions after investigations by the core Departments – Human Rights, Anti-corruption and Administrative Justice, as well as the draft decisions of the 10 Regional Directors.
He was also responsible for coordinating International Cooperation with International Human Rights Organisations such as the United Nations Special Procedures and Mechanisms.
The CHRAJ Commissioner also served as a UN Special Rapporteur on thematic issues; Treaty-based Committees, preparation of the Commission’s Independent Report on the Universal Periodic Report (UPR) to the Human Rights Council (HRC); the International Coordinating Committee (ICC) of national human rights institutions; the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
