Ford gift saga: CHRAJ’s report poor – CPP youth

The Convention People’s Party (CPP) Youth League, has expressed its displeasure with the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice’s (CHRAJ), over its report exonerating President John Mahama in the Ford Gift saga.

“The report leaves much to be desired and we think that there could have been a better way of reaching the conclusion that every Ghanaian would want in line with good governance practices,” the CPP Youth League Secretary, Hardi Yakubu said to Citi News.

CHRAJ was petitioned by the Youth wing of the CPP, and two others, to investigate the president’s acceptance of the $100,000 car from a Burkinabe contractor, as Vice President in 2012, which they said amounted to a conflict of interest and corruption.

But CHRAJ in its report released on Thursday, noted that, it did not find the President guilty of bribery, fraud or conflict of interest, but said President Mahama breached the gift policy.

Mr. Yakubu contends that, the resolution of the report was contradictory, and did not measure up to the standards of good governance because, “if you look at the code of conduct, it was enacted to prevent public officials from being in conflict of interest situations. For us, there could have been a better way of looking at the facts and the evidence to reach a better conclusion on this matter,” he stated.

What CHRAJ said…

CHRAJ said the gift in question formed part of gifts prohibited under the Gift Policy under the Code of Conduct, and that although the evidence shows that President Mahama subsequently surrendered the gift to the State, the action nonetheless contravened the gift policy.

By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana