Renomination of Dr. Anane unethical -Busia

Supreme Court's Decision On Dr. Anane a Legal Bomb

Legal Counsel for the Ministry for National Security, Nana Frema Busia, currently contesting the Manhyia parliamentary seat, says the renomination of Dr. Richard Anane for a ministerial appointment was clearly unethical and undemocratic, and flies in the face of good governance.

"It also smacks of dictatorial tendency, and characteristic of moral insensitivity by an executive Presidency that must have its way," stated in a paper she authored, which she described as a "friendly fire," and headed "Truth versus Dr. Richard Anane."

Referring to excerpts of a speech delivered in Leiden, Holland on August 1 1957, by her late father, Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, as the then Prime Minister of the second republic of Ghana, she reiterated that democracy was a form of government based on ethics, and said if Dr. Busia, who is often touted as an architect of democracy, and whose name and image are affiliated with the ruling government, is right that ethics in governance is a requisite of democracy, then the reappointment of Anane will be a huge elephant treading not so gently, but roughshod on the public psyche.

She said in spite of President Kufuor's self-serving assessment that he had a solid legacy, when history is written, he will also be credited with weak moral leadership, because his legacy would certainly be soiled.

"If questionable ethics affect democratic credentials, then the President is ill-advised, and must rethink the unwarranted insistence on a continuing Anane public embarrassment saga, and withdraw the controversial renomination in good faith."

Assigning reasons for her position on the matter, Frema Busia indicated that it appeared that Ghana does not even need a Transport Minister, if the portfolio could be left vacant for such an extensive period.

She said the emphasis on Dr. Richard Anane's competency was disingenuous and questionable, because the issue related to qualitative professional and moral credibility in public service, and not the merits or demerits of the Supreme Court decision, which in the opinion of Nana Frema Busia, was a disservice to the ultimate public good.

She explained that when Dr. Richard Anane, a medical doctor, as the substantive Health Minister attended an HIV/AIDS conference and engaged in illicit unprotected sex, he displayed gross incompetence, and lack of an understanding of the basic fact of an important aspect of HIV/AIDS transmittal within the context of his specific assignment and ministerial portfolio, saying that was a classic demonstration of incompetence.

Nana Frema Busia noted that Dr. Anane acted in reckless disregard of, and contrary to his national obligations and his terms of reference as Health Minister, saying this is not a cause cerebra, because it did not impart any ethical imperative to our children, and on HIV/AIDS education.

"What ethical violation or conduct of impropriety should we expect from Dr. Anane within the Transport Ministry portfolio?" she questioned.

Considering the human and developmental cost of HIV/AIDS on our economy over time, Nana Frema Busia cautioned that there was no need to compound this developmental dilemma, with societal sanctioned license and presidential glorification of promiscuity, notwithstanding the fact that we seem to have misplaced cultural pride on being a polygamous and philandering nation.

In the opinion of the crusader, the majority on the Supreme Court let Ghana down when the august court failed to look critically at the overriding importance of public policy and public interest, and set a bad precedent on a faulty and not so convincing analysis of procedure.

"The Supreme Court decision is not any type of victory for Dr. Richard Anane, but a weakening of CHRAJ, particularly in the absence of an independent Minister of Justice to check executive excesses and abuse of power," she pointed out.

She also criticised the court's conclusive indicator that CHRAJ should not have found perjury in the public domain, while conducting an investigation of corruption, describing it as a legal bomb.

"If no perjury occurred then this is a different issue altogether."

By way of illustration, crusader Nana Frema Busia assumed Mr. 'A' shoots at Mr. 'B,' but Mr. 'B' does not die. If during a criminal investigation of attempted murder, it is established that Mr. 'A' had no intention to kill Mr. 'B,' but to frighten and rob him, and did in fact commit the robbery during which the AK 47 accidentally fired in an ensuing scuffle, should the finder of fact ignore the fact that a robbery had occurred and set Mr. 'A' free, because the facts do not support the attempted murder?

Talking about shooting, she said even if all that the errant former Minister of Health was doing was 'shooting sperm,' we all know the rudimentary fact that sperm is a deadly weapon in the hands of HIV/AIDS.

"The fact that we are all sinners with moral lapses saved only by God's grace, we should certainly not glorify our moral shortcomings," Nana Frema Busia cautioned.

She referred to an excerpt from Dr. K. A. Busia's book, AFRICA IN SEARCH OF DEMOCRACY that "A basic tenet of democracy is that all men including party bosses and rulers are fallible, and consequently there should be an effective institution of the expression of criticism and for constitutional change of rulers."

According to her, if Kofi Busia had relevance in the so-called Busia /Danquah tradition, then those who have a stake in his moral political legacy should have the integrity and courage to offer constructive public criticism of the Kufuor government, which seems to prefer abysmal crisis management, and is consequently unyielding to internal correction.

According to Busia's daughter, President Kufuor, who is a Catholic, has lost the moral plot by giving sanctions to sexual laxity, and proposed that Ghanaians encourage CHRAJ to file a case against Dr. Anane, to test the mettle of Ghana's democratic credentials.