It has been revealed that Professor Kwamena Ahwoi and Nana Ato Dadzie covertly examined Justice Emile Short before his outfit (CHRAJ) probed allegations The Chronicle had published against some ministers of state under former Mr Rawlings’ government.
Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi, who disclosed this in his controversial book, ‘Working with Rawlings,’ said the move was to vouch for the impartiality of Justice Emile Short, who had been newly appointed as the Commissioner of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
Kwamena Ahwoi explained in his book that though Rawlings wanted CHRAJ to probe the allegations, the fairness of the Commissioner, Emile Short, had a question mark. The reason being that Emile Short was new and was not well known by Rawlings as well as his political stance, thus, the need to dig into who he was.
He further stated that Rawlings met some of his trusted comrades, including himself and Nana Ato Dadzie, who were then tasked to probe Emile Short, and their outcome proved positive, the man could be trusted.
“President Rawlings met with some of his trusted comrades over the issue. Nana Ato Dadzie and I were among the comrades. After exhaustive discussions, it was decided to refer the matter to the newly-established CHRAJ. But there was a snag. The CHRAJ Commissioner, Mr. Emile Short, was new, and even though he had been appointed by President Rawlings, he was not really known to the President, and his politics were also unknown. Some rumours had it that he was even anti-NDC and could use the opportunity of the investigations to damage Jerry Rawlings and the NDC government.
“Nana Ato Dadzie and I were sent to go and source him out. We visited him at his residence, had a very long chat with him, and left convinced that he would do a fair job,” he wrote.
Having confirmed Emile Short’s fairness, Mr Ahwoi stated that then President Rawlings referred four of his political appointees who had been the subjects of the adverse publications in The Chronicle to the CHRAJ for investigations.
These appointees were Mr. P. V. Obeng, then Presidential Adviser on Governmental Affairs, Alhaji Ibrahim Adam, then Minister of Food and Agriculture, Colonel E. Osei-Wusu (Rtd.), then Minister of the Interior, and Dr I. K. Adjei-Marfo, then Presidential Staffer in charge of Cocoa Affairs.
Recounting how the private newspapers became awash with stories of alleged corruption and illegal acquisition of properties by Rawlings’ ministers and other appointees, Prof Ahwoi made particular mention of publications by ‘The Spear of the Nation,’ The Chronicle.
The book said The Chronicle had alleged that the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Alhaji Ibrahim Adam, had granted waivers to certain fishing companies, thereby allowing them to import fish without paying the requisite taxes and customs duties, which had resulted in the loss of billions of cedis of revenue to the state.
“The Commission’s investigations confirmed the newspaper’s allegations. It was found out that some of the companies which enjoyed the waivers had not even registered with the Registrar of Ships. The grant of waivers was also found to have been contrary to law,” he narrated.
On Mr P.V. Obeng, the book said CHRAJ did not find any evidence to support the allegations of corruption or impropriety against him.
“The allegation that he owned a string of plush houses in a suburb of Accra, worth billions of cedis, proved untrue. Another allegation that he owned a soft drinks factory was also found to be untrue,” the book reported.
For the then Minister of the Interior, Colonel E.M. Osei-Wusu (Rtd.), the Commission investigated him to see if “he had the means to put up the house The Chronicle estimated to be ¢600 million. The investigations revealed the actual cost of the building to be ¢104,574,016.55. It was found, however, that the Minister’s expenditure on the building exceeded his income by ¢18,523,182.48. He could not explain the source of the excess income. He was, therefore, ordered to refund the unexplained amount to the state,” Prof Ahwoi wrote in the book.
The fourth person, Dr I.K. Adjei-Marfo, then Presidential Staffer on Cocoa Affairs, was alleged to have used his office to illegally acquire a large number of houses and farms.
Prof wrote that “the investigations disclosed that he had the means to lawfully acquire all his assets, except that he had failed to pay taxes on some of his earnings. He also acquired a house in the name of his seven-year old son, but had failed to disclose the property, both in his assets declaration form and in his evidence before the Commission.
“The Commission recommended that he be made to pay the appropriate taxes on his earnings. The Commission also found his conduct to be incompatible with his high office and recommended that his position be reconsidered.”
Though Prof Ahwoi described the 11-month CHRAJ findings as “fairly fair,” he also stated that Cabinet discussed the report and caused a statement to be issued, in which it disagreed with aspects of it.
“Nevertheless, as a result of the findings, Colonel Osei-Wusu (Rtd.) and Alhaji Ibrahim Adam resigned their ministerial positions. Mr P.V. Obeng also left the government not too long after without formally resigning,” he stated.
The post NDC Secretly Investigated Emile Short appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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