Ford gift saga: CHRAJ conclusion problematic – Emile Short

A former Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) says the Commission's conclusions after an investigation into President John Mahama's acceptance a Ford vehicle gift is problematic.

Justice Emile Short is worried about what CHRAJ's decision might mean to ministers and other public office holders who may be faced a similar situation where contractors and other persons offer them gifts.

Speaking on Joy FM's Super Morning Show, Justice Short said “the conclusion is rather problematic. 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.

“If the decision of the Commission is to be accepted at face value, does it really send the right signal to ministers and other public office holders as to how they should deal with the question of gifts”? he queried.

Justice Short's comments come on the back of a report by CHRAJ exonerating President John Mahama of accusations of conflict of interest after he accepted a gift from a Burkinabe contractor, Jibril Kanazoe in 2012.

Jibril Kanazoe

CHRAJ after its investigation said that the president did not breach the bribery, corruption or conflict of interest laws of the country.

On the issue of whether the acceptance of the gift placed the president in a conflict of interest situation, the Commission observed that the acceptance of prohibited gift, did not in itself constitute a conflict of interest.

However, it is the failure to declare the gift to the appropriate institutions; and failing to take oneself away from any transaction involving the giver of the gift is what constitutes a conflict of interest.

The Commission said, since the president declared the gift, surrendered it to the state's vehicle pool and did not use his public office for private benefit he could not have been found to have breached the conflict of interest procedures.

But Justice Short said, 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.

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.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Naa Sakwaba Akwa | [email protected]