Ford gift: CHRAJ ‘bamboozled’ us – PPP

The verdict of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) on the Mahama Ford gift saga was a deception, the Director of Operations of the Progressive People's Party (PPP), Nana Ofori Owusu, has alleged.

CHRAJ has said not only did its investigation into allegations of bribery, fraud, and conflict of interest brought against Mr Mahama in connection with the SUV gift exonerate the President, but also brings closure to the matter.

After close to four months of what CHRAJ describes as extensive investigations, the commission said President Mahama only violated the gift policy regime for public officers.

But Mr Owusu, whose party, along with the Youth Wing of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and a private citizen, petitioned CHRAJ to have Mr Mahama investigated after he received the Ford SUV from the contractor, said: “We have been bamboozled, we have been hoodlummed by this decision.”

Mr Owusu, who was a guest on Citi FM’s The Big Issue on Saturday October 1, told host Umaru Sanda that he could not not fathom how CHRAJ concluded that “the president has contravened the gift policy and go on to say there was no conflict of interest”.

For him, Mr Mahama “is guilty of conflict of interest”.

He stressed that the report by CHRAJ only gave rise to more questions than answers.

“On what date was the Ford gift given to the then Vice-President Mahama? Did the then Vice-President Mahama consult President Atta Mills that he had received this gift? What was the view of the president (Mills)? On what date was the gift transferred to the Ghana government? Is the Ford gift stated in the fixed asset column of the balance sheet of Ghana as motor vehicle appropriately? Why would you fix armour and bullet proof on this car when there is a fleet of other cars with armour and bulletproof? You cannot try and blow smoke on our eyes, the truth stands,” he noted.