Former Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Emile Short, has said that no amount of damage control by Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Marfo can erase the fact that President Nana Akufo-Addo goofed when he praised Jospong CEO Joseph Siaw Agyapong recently.

“I am really surprised that the President would make complimentary remarks about someone or a company that is under investigation for corruption. I don’t understand why he would make such as an error.

“I think that in my mind, it was an error of judgement when he spoke. I think the president himself ought to come back and correct the error. So, to that extent, the Senior Minster may not have completely erased the damage that was done by that statement,” Mr Short stated.

Jospong has been accused of alleged corruption and being probed. At a recent visit to the Accra Compost Plant project being undertaken by Jospong, President Akufo-Addo applauded the company for its efforts.

The issue came up again at the launch of the 2017 Anti-Corruption and Transparency Week in Accra on Monday, December 4.

Responding to the issue, Mr Marfo felt it was not right for the president to have applauded Jospong considering the numerous allegations of corruption levelled against the company.

“It’s certainly not right. It will give the wrong signals if you are seen to be pampering or endorsing a known wrong doer. That one is not right,” he pointed out.

Even though Mr Short welcomes the remarks by Mr Marfo, he said it will take the president himself to correct the mistake.

“If I [were] the president, I will come back and clarify the statement,” he said in an interview on Joy FM on Tuesday, December 5.