Minister of Justice Must Resign

A former President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa , has noted that though the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Hon. Joe Ghartey, has unreservedly apologised to the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) over the ?4.3billion embezzlement docket, he must be fired from office or forced to resign.

According to him, if the BNI had not challenged the minister through a letter they sent to the Public Accounts Committee, the issue of the missing docket would have been swept under the carpet. He added that the minister's decision to apologise in less than 24 hours was to prevent shame.

"If he claims that he was misled by his officials, what action has he taken to deal with the people that he claimed misled him? He should name those officers he accused of misleading him before Ghanaians will accept his apology, otherwise people will be reading meanings into the whole drama," he said.

Speaking to this paper in a telephone interview yesterday, Mr. Ablakwa Okudzeto, who is also a member of the Committee for Joint Action (CJA), said he was shocked that the minister could not cross-check his facts prior to his appearance before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) after being given a three-month notice.

"I am aware that the PAC gave him advance letters since June so what prevented him from doing any thorough search before coming out to deny only to come back just a day after to say that he has found the docket and that he was misled. It does not make any sense at all," Ablakwa said.

The former NUGS President backed his assertion with Article 88, Clause 3 of the 1992 Constitution, which he quoted as: "The Attorney-General shall be responsible for the initiation and conduct of all prosecution of criminal offences." He said all indications pointed to the fact that the minister was not prepared to fight the cancer of corruption. According to him, if the nation would succeed in the fight against corruption, it would be prudent for those in authority, including the Justice Minister, to always name and shame the culprit and those who were supposed to be fighting corruption.

Ablakwa added that the attitude or behaviour of Joe Ghartey over the ?4.3 billion embezzlement and the subsequent missing of the docket on the case was a clear demonstration that the government had failed in the fight against corruption.

He was of the view that the praises showered on the minister for apologising to the BNI through the PAC should be given to the BNI for its persistent attempt to expose corruption, which was nearly covered up by the Attorney-General.

"This is not the way we fight against corruption. I think that he must be made to resign or fired. Samuel Ablakwa-Okudzeto contended further that, "The apology from the minister looks like a cock and bull story when subjected to any serious examination. This is because he had at least three months or a couple of months to do his research before appearing at the PAC," he said.

He also expressed reservations on the way and the manner some prominent lawyers in the country are jumping to the defence of the minister.

It would be recalled that the BNI on the issues of ?4.3billion embezzlement saga wrote to the PAC that they had completed their investigations and that the people were due for prosecution but the Attorney General requested the docket in 2005.

However, when the Justice Minister, Mr. Joe Ghartey appeared before the PAC, he emphatically denied knowledge of the docket and when the BNI was about the let the secret out of the bag, the minister return the next day and stated that he had found the docket and that he was misled into denying the knowledge of the docket. He has subsequently apologised to the BNI.