Anas’ petition: CHRAJ will not ask Ofori-Atta to step aside; it’s for Akufo-Addo to decide – Emile Short

Former Commissioner at the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative (CHRAJ) Emile Short has said that the Commission will not ask the Finance Minister to stay out of office following the petition filed by investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas against him.

He said the decision to stay out of office or not is a matter for the President to decide.

Speaking on the News 360 on TV3 Monday November 22, Mr Short said “I don’t know exactly what the issue is, but basically, when CHRAJ receives a complaint it will send to the person against whom the complaint is made and that person has to respond within a specified period, normally ten days. The response will be sent back to the complainant, in this case Anas, for his response.

“CHRAJ will not ask the Finance Minister to stay out of office, that is the matter for the President to determine.”

The petitioner, Anas, raised issue of conflict of interest against the Finance Minister for which he should be investigated.

CHRAJ boss Joseph Whittal told journalists on Monday November 21 that “The allegations are that there is conflict of interest in terms of their official duties as public officers and the companies in which they have interest in terms of government bonds and so the case is going through the standard process of assessment in order to make sure that it meets procedural requirement under the Commission’s regulation as well as whether it is really within the mandate of the Commission. Based on that, we will then decide what next steps to take.”

The NDC Minority in Parliament made a number of allegations against Mr Ofori-Atta for which they are seeking to remove him from Office.

The accusations are “Despicable conflict of Interest ensuring that he directly benefits from Ghana’s economic woes as his companies receive commissions and other unethical contractual advantage.

Unconstitutional withdrawals from the Consolidated Fund in blatant contravention of Article 178 of the 1992 Constitution supposedly for the construction of the President’s Cathedral;

Deliberate and dishonest misreporting of economic data to Parliament Fiscal recklessness leading to the crash of the Ghana Cedi which is currently the worst performing currency in the world;

Alarming incompetence and frightening ineptitude resulting in the collapse of the Ghanaian economy and on excruciating cost of living crisis; Gross mismanagement of the economy which has occasioned untold and unprecedented hardship.

Mr Ofori-Atta refuted all these allegations when he appeared before the 8-member committee that was investigating him.