Thumbs Up Acting Commissioner Of (CHRAJ) The view of the Ghana National Party.

It is gratifying to read on the Ghana web general news of Thursday, October 05, 2006 a news item attributed to have come from the acting commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Ms. Anna Bossman.

“Ms. Anna Bossman, reiterated the need for the Attorney-General’s Office to be decoupled from the Ministry of Justice. In the statement, she said an independent Attorney-General would find it easier to prosecute criminal cases against public officials when recommendations were made towards that direction. She said “in the present circumstance where the Attorney-General was also the Minister of Justice, the decision to pursue criminal prosecution against public officials often remained a prerogative of the minister”.

This is completely a mockery of true democracy and justice. Ms. Anna Bossman has a very good point; however, the Attorney General is the chief Government Lawyer who represents the interest of the Government on National and International issues. The Attorney General can not therefore be separated from the Executive branch of Government.

It is in view of this, that the (Ghana National Party) has indicated in our manifesto that a separate independent Justice department be created under a constitutional requirement, to prosecute high official political crimes, financial crimes, bribery and corruption, criminal “greed and selfishness” in our society. This office headed by a Special Prosecutor will have to be set up with full independence to investigate all reasonable cases of national importance brought to its attention by community leaders and/or as stimulated by massive public opinions, and shall be required to make a determination within a period of 90 days and submit its findings to the Attorney General for legal prosecution if there is justifiable cause.

The Independent Special Prosecutor’s function, being advocated by the Ghana National Party, is what Ms. Anna Bossman is performing under (CHRAJ). The only difference is that, she is also a Government appointee and therefore under the influence of the Government and high political interference. Those who drew the constitution and those who promulgated and signed it as a National legal document deliberately created that situation to protect themselves against prosecutions, because they knew they were the same people who would be recycled in the political hierarchy anyway.

The CHRAJ do not need prosecutorial powers as lamented by Ms. Anna Bossman. It should remain an investigative body, but should be autonomous without political influence, and have to be operated under constitutional subvention. This way, the office can perform creditably and discharge its responsibilities with the right caliber of professionals in an atmosphere of freedom from any powers. Under more effective Ghana National Party leadership, the (CHRAJ) in it’s present form, will be adequately financed and be given all the independence it requires to operate more quickly and effectively without interference, and the Attorney General’s office also adequately funded to prosecute crimes quickly to reduce years of case backlog. Funding for social justice is very important; without that, we cannot expect to see progress in our society.

It will require a constitutional amendment to be able to establish what is being recommended; (AN INDIPENDENT CHRAJ). Ghana National Party is mindful of the evils of our country, and the fact that high official political crimes, financial crimes, bribery and corruption, greed and selfishness, have retarded our progress, will without hesitation advocate for constitutional amendment to all clauses of the 1992 constitution which in our view needs to be amended to protect justice and developmental initiatives in our country.

Given the mandate by the people of Ghana in 2008, we shall rid our country of all forms of injustice and create a society where the Laws of the country have no respect for persons regardless of position, gender or social influence. This is the kind of society that we should leave behind for our grand children, and we shall sacrifice everything to change this broken down system where Laws are made to be obeyed, but the custodians of the Laws themselves do not obey the Laws. We need to create a functional society but it will never happen if the top “stinks”. The top is the problem not the bottom.

Let nobody doubt the sincerity, selflessness and dedication of this New Party. Our commitments to sacrifice and move our country forward in development are unconditional. Ghana National Party is surely the best and most viable alternative to all the existing political parties in the country that have taken our country for a ride for most of the post-independent era. Visit our web site www.natlparty.com and learn more about our intentions.