CHRAJ CRAVES SUPPORT TO FIGHT CORRUPTION (PAGE 46, NOV 21)

THE Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Emile F. Short, has appealed to civil society and public-spirited Ghanaians to support the Commission in its bid to secure the necessary mandate to prosecute corrupt public officials.
He was of the opinion that the present situation where CHRAJ could only make recommendations to the Attorney General, who is a political appointee, for prosecution, could undermine the commission’s aim of fighting corruption in the country.
Delivering a paper on “Eliminating Corruption from Public Business in Ghana” at the 30th anniversary celebration of Adventist Education in Ghana, Mr Short said it was ironical that African countries which had modelled their anti-corruption agencies after CHRAJ had empowered their commissions to cite and prosecute public officials and others for corruption.
He said it was no wonder that the country’s perception of corruption index released by the Transparency International had stagnated for many years without showing any improvement.
Mr Short said despite the limitation of its mandate and inadequate resources, CHRAJ had been able to hold some individuals and corporate bodies to account for their actions and inaction as part of national efforts at promoting public accountability.
He said 138,150 cases were handled by CHRAJ between 1993 and 2007, which included human rights abuses, corruption and administration of justice.
He said the CHRAJ had also investigated over 300 corruption cases and been receiving 50 corruption-related cases every month since the commission gave a new impetus to its anti-corruption mandate and put new structures in place to deal exclusively with anti-corruption cases.
Mr Short said apart from investigations, the commission had adopted a three-prong strategy involving investigations, education and prevention, to fight corruption.
He said through such efforts, the commission had helped to provide relief to several individuals who had been wronged by public officials but would have been left to their fate.
Mr Edward Dua Agyeman, immediate past Auditor-General of the Ghana Audit Service, said corruption was introduced into the country when the first whitemen stepped foot on the shores of Gold Coast with the Bible, confectionery and drinks to gain acceptance and open the way for establishing business in the public and private sectors.
He said corruption in the country had become a major challenge to address because of the fine line between what most Ghanaians considered a bribe and a gift.
Mr Dua Agyeman called for the strengthening of institutions charged with fighting corruption through increased funding and fostering of the independence of the Attorney-General’s Department, CHRAJ, the Auditor-General and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), to make them more immune to political and social pressure.
Mr Martin Akotey, Dean of the Faculty of Development Studies of Valley View University, who spoke on the topic “Effects of public sector corruption on attainment of the Millennium Development Goals”, said the amount of money Ghana lost each year to corruption was very huge.