Speaker Throws Out Motion To Investigate Mahama’s Car Gift

The Speaker of Ghana's Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho has dismissed the motion filed by the Minority calling for investigations into President John Mahama's Ford gift saga.

Mr. Doe Adjaho directed the Minority New Patriotic Party (NPP) members of the house to pursue the case at the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, (CHRAJ).

According to the Speaker, various legal and constitutional provisions indicate that the body mandated to deal with such issues is the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, (CHRAJ).

“Ordinarily, having regard to standing order 79(4), I would have returned the motion to the member in whose name it stands as being inadmissible. But the motion was tied contemporaneously to the request for the recall of the house under standing order 38(1) which derives from article 123 of the constitution and therefore leaves me with no discretion in recalling the house. Standing order 79(4) also provides as follows: Every notice shall be submitted to Mr. Speaker who shall direct that it be printed in its original terms or with such amendments as he shall direct or that it be returned to the member submitting it as being inadmissible.”“I am therefore unable to admit this motion. I hereby direct the clerk to return the motion to the member in whose name it stands in line with standing order 79 (4).”

Members of Parliament convened today [Thursday], for a sitting after an early recall from their recess by the Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho.

The reasons for the recall were unclear, though on Citi FM's news analysis programme, 'The Big Issue' on August 27, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Ayawaso West Wogon, Emmanuel Kyeremateng Agyarko, revealed that MPs were being recalled to consider the Minority's motion for investigations into President Mahama's Ford gift saga.

Doe Adjaho also adjourned sitting sine die.
“Since this is the matter that has brought us here, I adjourn the House sine die.”

Background
President Mahama admitted receiving a Ford vehicle gift worth about $100,000 in 2012 from a Burkinabe contractor,  Djibril Kanazoe after investigations by journalist, Manesseh Azure Awuni.

The gift was considered an inducement as Kanazoe was subsequently awarded a contract to construct the Dodo Pepeso-Nkwanta road construction project. This was after he had constructed a fence wall for a land belonging to Ghana's Embassy in Burkina Faso for nearly half a million dollars.

President Mahama was harshly criticized for accepting the vehicle he claims to have put in the state's pool of vehicles. Critics alleged that the revelation indicates a case of conflict of interest and called for his impeachment of the president.

The leader of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo described the president's acceptance of the gift as another blotch on his administration.

The youth wing of the Convention People's Party (CPP) petitioned the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, (CHRAJ) to investigate the possible conflict of interest. The President has since responded to CHRAJ's letter requesting information on the incident, and has rubbished the allegations leveled against him.

According to Doe Adjaho, upon receiving the motion “I sought to satisfy myself to find out whether this matter is under investigation before the Commission on Human Rights and Administration Justice.”

“In view of the fact that information in the public domain suggests that some petitions relating to the subject matter of the motion have been submitted to the CHRAJ, accordingly, on the same day of 19^th August, directed the office of the clerk to conduct a search in that regard. The search by the office of the clerk confirmed that the matter is before them.”

He further argued that, CHRAJ was the right body to investigate the matter.

“It is my view therefore that, it is the CHRAJ that is the institution vested with the exclusive constitutional authority to deal with all relevant matters relating to breach of code of conduct of public officers including this matter on the receipt of the Ford expedition vehicle. As the Speaker of this House I am of a firm conviction that constitutional bodies must respect each other in the performance of their duties in order to avoid role conflicts,” Mr. Adjaho added.

-citifmonline