CHRAJ: Emile Short’s criticism unfair, disappointing – Batidam

The former chairman of the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption Daniel Batidam has labelled as “unfair and disappointing” Justice Emile Short’s criticism and description of CHRAJ as ineffective under its current commissioner.

According to Batidam, it was morally unacceptable of Justice Short who is a former commissioner of the anti-graft agency to accuse the current commissioner Joseph Whittal of running down the commission.

“It is not about CHRAJ itself not being able to carry out the mandate. We must also look at some of the factors and to that extent, I find the former commissioner’s criticism of the commission in its recent times or given a period of in the past five years quite unfair,” Batidam told Starr Today’s Atiewin Mbillah-Lawson.

“I am a bit disappointed that Mr Short having sat at the place and knowing all the challenges the commission faces will be putting the blame on individuals as if it was their making. I think as a country we have not done justice to our institutions,” he added.

Justice Short who was speaking on the back of claims by the Communications Director of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Yaw Buaben Asamoah that CHRAJ has been ineffective in the fight against corruption over the years said Whittal was to blame for the seeming ineffectiveness of the commission.

In his reaction, however, Whittal parried the accusation as unfair and misplaced, telling Starr Midday News’ Regina Borle Bortey that “because they seemed to be coming from ignorance of what’s happening in CHRAJ now.”

Asked if he believed the former boss of the Commission under which he worked was criticizing the commission because he did not know about happenings at the Commission, Mr Whittal said: “Yes, specifically on what he said. When you asked him the question regarding whether cases or investigations are going on in CHRAJ or whether it is same or it is different as it used to be and he said it is different and you can ask us and that we don’t seem to be doing proactive investigation, I think he’s wrong there because the facts are different.” Read Full Story