[ 2014-09-20 ]

Amaliba: govt distressed by CHRAJ incident; I support calls to sack Commissioner
A member of the ruling National Democratic
Congress (NDC) legal team, Abraham Amaliba, has
revealed government is unhappy by a recent case of
waste of financial resources by Commissioner of
the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative
Justice (CHRAJ), Lauretta Lamptey.

He also said calls by persons for the removal of
the CHRAJ boss is appropriate.

“I support calls to sack her”, he revealed,
but emphasised the need to follow due process.

Abraham Amaliba was speaking on Newsfile, news
analysis programme on Joy FM and Multi TV
Saturday.

Last Tuesday, it emerged that the Commissioner has
in the last 33 months been paying what staff of
the Commission say is huge funds on accommodation
when the institution is severely cash-strapped.

Ms Lamtey's African Union (AU) Village apartment
cost the state $148,500 in 33 months of rent –
from November 2011 to April 2014.

Some of the Commission's staff say as a native of
Accra, Ms. Lamptey could have gotten a less
expensive place to live in herself while her
10-year old official residence located on the
Patrice Lumumba road, is being renovated.

But Ms. Lamptey, who is currently living in a
hotel with her children at a daily fee of $
$456.25 after checking out of the AU Village
property, parried the claims that she has been
extravagant.

She insists she does not own a property anywhere
in the country, adding it was government
responsibility to provide accommodation for her.

Although public disapproval of the amount spent on
the Commissioner's accommodation has been fierce,
government is yet to state its position on the
matter, although four civil society groups IMANI
Ghana, the Centre for Democratic Development
(CDD), the Integrated Social Development Centre
(ISODEC) and the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII)
recently said the expenditure was an open loot of
the country's financial resources.

But on Newsfile Saturday, Amaliba revealed
"government itself is not happy with what is
happening at CHRAJ regarding this accommodation
issue".

"She did not take into consideration the austere
period that we find ourself. As a government we
find the President [John Mahama] and his
appointees cutting down cost. They themselves
sacrificing", he said.

Mr Amaliba observed that had the CHRAJ
Commissioner spent on her accommodation an amount
that was within her conditions of service, the
issue would not have come up.

"Particularly for her at that institution CHRAJ,
which institution is there to protect the pubic
purse as in the case of with respect to their
mandate", he reiterated.

By law, the Commissioner, who has the same rank as
an appeals court judge, should have spent $330 a
month on rent, and not $4,500.00 as Ms Lamptey has
been paying for 33 montths.

Mr Amaliba uged those w ho are calling for the
removal of the CHRAJ boss to pettion the President
to do so.

Source - MyjoyOnline

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