Editorial : Jerky Start For CHRAJ

Justice Emile Short may be warming up the engine of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) for a long haul, as the task of investigating the Mabey & Johnson infamy stares him in the face rather crudely. The signs are already showing that the daunting assignment could cost the country’s governance record a fortune in terms of losing face in the international community.

Something must be wrong already even before the first shot is fired by the Commission as evidenced from one of the stories in this edition. Alhaji Baba Kamara’s statement that he has not been invited by the Commission sounds interesting given that the Commissioner told Ghanaians that such an invitation has really been sent out.

If such contradictions begin to rear their heads in a matter of the magnitude of the Mabey & Johnson infamy, then we can foresee trouble ahead.

That the Commission appears not to have put its act together in the investigations about to unfold is not in dispute.

However, it appears the Commission itself has not put its act together given that Alhaji Baba Kamara, the Ghanaian envoy to Nigeria, is emphatic in his position.

Alhaji Boniface Abubakar Siddique had also earlier told Daily Guide that at the time the Commission was looking for him to deliver a written invitation to him, he was in the North and that he could have been contacted through his party office.

We ask that the Commission prepare adequately for the daunting task ahead by ensuring that all the persons who must make appearances or even present written statements are notified accordingly and not through the media as might have been the case.

Such persons must be given the benefit of the doubt as enjoined by English Law so that their interest and the nation’s are ensured. Let the Commissioner put forth all its demands to government to obviate any dent on the integrity of the outcome.

Already, a section of Ghanaians have expressed doubts about the quality of such an outcome. We do not intend to be part of this segment but caution that when a tainted report emanates from the investigations, Ghana’s governance as stated earlier would witness a major dip.

The ability of CHRAJ to manage the investigations, devoid of external interference, will go a long way in defining who we are as a people. Government’s failure to render the necessary logistical support to the Commission can make a lot of difference in our rating on the international community.

Government cannot afford to shy away from making good its position on corruption. If there is a time when government can prove skeptics wrong about its sincerity in the area of fighting corruption, the Mabey & Johnson investigations which President John Evans Atta Mills was compelled to order, has no compare.

We do not have doubts in our minds that Ghanaians are interested in the outcome of the investigations and any sign of avoidable challenges would be considered as deliberate attempts at putting impediments in the way of the Commission. As CHRAJ prepares to take off therefore, we wish them Godspeed but advise that it stands its ground and allow the fear of God to be their guiding principle.