Veteran journalist, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako says Parliament of Ghana has no jurisdiction to investigate cases of conflict of interest as it is purporting to do.
His comment follows a directive from the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin yesterday setting up an 8-member adhoc committee to investigate allegations of impropriety levelled against Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta by the minority.
According to Mr. Baako, ground one of the vote of censure motion against the minister which bothers on conflict of interest may suffer a knockout on the basis of lack of jurisdiction. “Per Article 287 of the Constitution, it is CHRAJ that is vested with the exclusive jurisdiction to investigate complaints under Chapter 24 of the Constitution”, he said.
He made this revelation via a text message to the host of Kokrokoo, Kwami Sefa Kayi on Wednesday and later to Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show host Randy Abbey on Friday.
The full text reads as follows: “Interesting! Parliament has no jurisdiction to interrogate the issue of “Conflict of Interest”! Per Article 287 of the Constitution, it is CHRAJ that is vested with the exclusive jurisdiction to investigate complaints under Chapter 24 of the Constitution.”
“Indeed, I want to believe Sammy is very conversant with this point because the Supreme Court amplified that point in the Okudzeto Ablakwa/Omane Boamah vrs Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey and Attorney-General case.
Speaker Doe Adjaho was guided by that SC verdict in refusing to admit the motion on the Ford Expedition Vehicle saga on 1st September, 2016!”
“The allegation of conflict of interest, if it is indeed contained in the “Motion for Censure” may run into a “constitutional minefield” both at the Ad-Hoc Committee level and outside Parliament unless it is tabled before CHRAJ for determination!
Source: dailyguidenetwork.com
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I just can't understand why certain politicians would chart a course that, by virtue of their academic qualifications, should not descend so low as to hit below the belt, so to speak. It is revolting to learn that people of such academic standing would deviate to share or present such dishonest views for their own self-interest. I believe that intelligence extends beyond formal academic degrees and proficiency in the Queen's language. The ethics, social aspects, and latent informality of human-centered education are critical. Otherwise, we risk squandering a lot of time and energy on an education that is counterproductive to our growth as human beings. If you ask me, the current challenges facing the Ghanaian economy are not the result of the mess made by the finance minister but a structural problem that dates back to our colonial past. The pandemic and the Ukraine war are the last straws that broke the camel's back, so to speak. We are being very ungrateful to put everything at the doorstep of the Ken Ofori-Ata and Nana Akufo-Addo administration. I bet you that if all rational Ghanaians would keep their own counsel, they would realize that the situation would have been worse if the NDC administration was in power. Then the good people of Ghana knew the situation of the Ghanaian economy before the crisis. Please don't let the political interests of some politicians sway us from our own rational evaluation of which party is competent given our circumstances. I guess I would opt for Ken to go out of political expediency, but not out of incompetence underperformance.