CHRAJ to reconstruct old Parliament house

An amount of GH¢15 million has been allocated for the reconstruction of the block of the old Parliament House that got burnt on December 13, 2013.

The amount is part of the budgetary allocation of GH¢37,816,401 approved by Parliament for the implementation of the activities and programmes of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).

The old Parliament House accommodated Ghana’s legislators from 1951, when Dr Kwame Nkrumah became the leader of Government Business under British rule, to 1981.

Until Thursday, December 19, 2013, the Old Parliament House accommodated the Economic and Organised Crime Organisation (EOCO), formerly, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the CHRAJ.

The fire gutted the building, office property and equipment running into thousands of Ghana cedis, and EOCO subsequently moved into their newly constructed premises adjacent the Old Parliament House.

CHRAJ had to manage in sections of the old Parliament House that was untouched by the flames.

This year, the persistent requests of the commission was granted with the approval of the amount, which the Commissioner of CHRAJ, Mr Joseph Whittal, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, described as unprecedented.

He said the allocation to CHRAJ was a 100 per cent improvement in allocations over the past years and that would strengthen the institution to improve upon its work in the fight against corruption, ombudsman and human rights functions.

NACAP training

Mr Whittal said the allocation would also help CHRAJ to consolidate activities in the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP).

“Already, more than 25 public institutions, faith-based organisations and some private institutions, such as the Catholic Bishops’ Conference and some Muslim Missions, have come knocking on our doors to be trained on the NACAP,” he added.

He said the training would spell out the roles and parts to be played by all under the action plan against corruption.

He expressed his happiness over the fact that the budget had also committed an amount to activities under NACAP by public institutions, which had resulted in the requests for training from all these groups for a better understanding of responsibilities and the quarterly annual work plans that institutions had to deliver.

“That would bring all on board in the campaign against corruption in the country,” he said.