The confirmation of the acting boss of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Joseph Whittal, has sparked controversy barely five hours after the move.
President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday December 20, 2016 confirmed Joseph Whittal as the head of CHRAJ while announcing Josephine Nkrumah as the new head of the National Commission for Civic Education - NCCE.
Though the appointments were announced a few hours ago, the president's decision to confirm Mr Whittal as the substantive CHRAJ boss appears to be a decision that may not hold for long following a decision by some persons to challenge the action in court.
A former partner at Ampem Chambers, Gabby Otchere Darko, first hinted on his Facebook wall, the intention of the party to challenge the decision of the outgoing-president in court.
Mr. Otchere Darko says the writ is seeking to 'restrain the defeated president from using his last 16 days to impose on his successor a CHRAJ boss he didn't even want to impose on himself'.
In a related development, Peacefmonline.com can confirm that the New Patriotic Party has challenged the power and authority of the out-going president to make new appointments by filing a suit in court.
The writ was filed on behalf of the incoming government by Lawyer Philip Addison, who confirmed the legal action in an interview a short while ago.
According to him, though going by the letter of the law, an outgoing president has the power to make appointment until the midnight 6th of January 2017, in spirit of the law, it cannot make appointment that will tie the hand of the incoming president.
Source: Peacefmonline.com with additional files from Ghanaweb
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stuuu..pd NPP people, did Nana Addo and the NPP created any vancancies or build infrusctures to come and employ people in them? JM must fill all the vancancies he has created before he leaves office because he is still the president. I you challeng this very blindly in Court bear in mind that NPP has won elections today and will lose elections tomorrow and all what you are doing today will be used to pay you NPP people dearly. You mark it on the wall and do the fuuuuuuuuuu..lish thing.
Nana Addo should not pay the entitlements due mahama and his cohorts until he pays the increased allowances of the students! That would teach those cr-imin-als, cor-rupt ndc people bitter lessons!
I will like to ask those challenging the appointment of the bosses of CHRAJ and NCCE if the President's action contravenes any legal law or instrument of the Republic of Ghana. President Mahama is still the President until 7th January, 2017. Why does the NPP want to oppose something they endorsed in 2008 when then President Kufour took a number of decisions that the Prof. Atta-Mills government had to swallow. Don't they remember the Single Spine, reduction in fuel prices when Ghanaians had pleaded with him to do so several months earlier, the unwarranted amnesty granted to prisoners, new contracts and many more? What was right in 2008 is still right today. Secondly, are they saying these persons do not qualify for those positions. If they qualify, are they not Ghanaian and where is the all inclusiveness mantra of Nana Akuffo Addo as he exclaimed at the Sports Stadium last Sunday? These people should not politicize public institutions. I think those who went to court on this are wasting their time and resources. The good judges of the Supreme Court will throw this case away.
NO ACT OF PARLIAMENT CAN ACT AGAINST THE POWER OF THE PRESIDENT STATED IN THE CONSTITUTION SUPREME COURT WOULD SHOT THE CHALLENGE DOWN IN ONE STROKE. WAIT UNTIL 7TH JANUARY 2017 .
I do not think that it is even necessary to go to court. Certainly if the sitting President has the power to hire, the incoming President equally has the power to fire. Let us move ahead with serious issues rather than discussing such matters that can easily be resolved.
THE MAN IS STILL THE PRESIDENT OF GHANA. HE HAS THE RIGHT TO SIGN CONTRACT AND APPOINTS PEOPLE.
So His Excellency John Mahama has decided to make things worse for Ghanaians and the incoming government by making last minute decisions to eclipse the nation. I think this is extreme wickedness.
The actions of the outgoing President to appoint persons into tenured positions at this time may be reprehensible but not unlawful. The NPP should therefore forget about the intended legal action unless they can demonstrate that the constitutionally mandated processes, i.e. consultation with the Council of State, was not carried. In such a case, they will have a technical basis to annul the process.
Oh President Mahama, it`s too late. You denied Ghanaians jobs and now that u are belly 15 days to be named Ex-president u are now trying to employ. You should rather apologize to unemployed Ghanaians before u say bye bye to them.
WILL NEVER CHANGE. THESE CORRUPT PRACTICES WILL DEFINATLY HUNT HIM.