Veep lauds creation of Anti-corruption Unit in CHRAJ

Accra, Sept. 15, GNA - Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama on Monday lauded the creation of the Anti-Corruption Unit within the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to investigate and prosecute public office holders mentioned in the Auditor-General's Report submitted to Parliament for embezzling State funds.

The Anti Corruption Unit would institute civil proceedings against such officers to redeem moneys embezzled or diverted.
Vice President Mahama was speaking in Accra to begin weeklong activities to mark the 10th anniversary celebration of CHRAJ.
He also praised the drawing up of guidelines in the area of conflict of interest and the offering of gifts to public officers. The guidelines would be put in the public domain for debate next October.
Vice President Mahama said the Anti Corruption Unit and the development of the guidelines are in consonance with the Government's policy against corruption.
He said Government was strengthening the capacity of democratic institutions and administrative bodies like CHRAJ to provide greater access to justice for the poor.
Vice President Mahama said Government had endorsed the conduct of a diagnostic study of the current legal and institutional environment for the management of public ethics.
When completed, the study would help to rationalise mandates, determine and prioritise resource needs and clarify existing linkages, he said, adding that it would also ensure effective means of preventing, investigating and punishing errant behaviour and rewarding integrity. Vice President Mahama said Government was supporting the conduct of empirical study into the financing of CHRAJ and similar institution of governance, adding that the study would lead to a more predictable and consistent funding of constitutional bodies aimed at enhancing the rule of law.
The Vice President said Government would continue to uphold the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution and consequently commit adequate resources to make them effective.
He said, this year, Government increased the budget of CHRAJ by almost 100 per cent over the previous years'.
The Vice President said beyond the space created for media freedom through the repeal of restrictive laws, participation in governance would be more vigorous with the passage of legislation to facilitate access to public information and to protect whistleblowers.
He urged the CHRAJ to expand its access and intensify its outreach to rural areas, saying that it could collaborate effectively at the district level with the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and civil society and community-based organisations.
The Commissioner for CHRAJ, Mr Justice Emile Francis Short, said the Commission, which was established in 1993 to protect human rights; defend administrative justice and control corruption; should be granted express constitutional powers to prosecute persons it found guilty of corruption or embezzlement of funds.
He recommended an increase in the membership of the Commission from three to at least seven fulltime Commissioners, which should include not only lawyers but also persons from other disciplines. He said the Commission, with its 10 regional and 99 district offices and has since received over 64,000 cases, most of which, it has resolved through mediation.
Professor Victor Ayeni, Deputy- Director, Governance and Institutional Development Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, described Ghana's CHRAJ as one of the three best Human Rights Commissions in Africa with the other two being that of South African and Uganda.
Laced with humour and rich African proverbs, Prof. Ayeni extolled efforts on African continent and said there were 30 countries in Africa that have human rights institutions.
He noted that poverty was the bane on human rights, stressing that the ordinary person must be the focus when addressing human rights needs. "The work of administrative justice and human rights institutions should be about the well-being of the common person," he said. "Their aim should be ensuring the well-being of the individual and their quality of life as part of the societal system."
Prof. Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere, Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana, Legon, who chaired the ceremony, advised CHRAJ to couch a friendly public image for itself saying it had to be seen as a "friend rather than a hunter".