According to him the report released by CHRAJ is a mechanism to prevent others from suing President John Mahama for accepting the gift from a Burkinabe contractor who is said to have benefited from some lucrative government projects.

“CHRAJ has done a poor job and continuous to do a poor job. This is not an independent appraisal of anything. This is a white wash to try and give the president an opportunity to block anything that anybody comes up with to try and sue him further and it is not good enough we should stop this,” Casely-Hayford said.

CHRAJ was petitioned by the Progressive People’s party (PPP), Youth wing of the CPP and a private citizen to investigate the president’s acceptance of the car which they say leads to a conflict of interest and corruption.

But CHRAJ in its report released on Thursday noted that, it did not find the President guilty of bribery, fraud or conflict but said President Mahama breached the gift policy.

But speaking on the Big Issue, Casely-Hayford said CHRAJ’s report is  disappointing.

“It [The report] doesn’t make any sense, there are so many things that are wrong with this transaction and CHRAJ as an organization is honestly so disappointing. There is a lot of material in that report, [that] it would have been better off not even disclosing because it makes the whole thing look so bizarre that it raises more questions than answers,” he added.

CHRAJ report shames critics

But the Co-ordinator of the 2016 National Democratic Congress (NDC) campaign, Kofi Adams argued that the CHRAJ report vindicates the president.

“Today is a day of shame for them, they [critics] have been exposed that they are only trying to destroy a gem, a pearl that we have,” he said.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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CHRAJ in its report released on Thursday, stated that President John Mahama breached the gift policy, when he accepted the gift from a Burkinabe contractor as Vice President in 2012.

CHRAJ said the gift in question, formed part of acts prohibited under the ‘Gift Policy’ under the Code of Conduct, and that although the evidence shows that President Mahama subsequently surrendered the gift to the State, the action nonetheless contravened the gift policy.

It however noted that, it did not find the President guilty of bribery, fraud or conflict of interest.

Speaking on CHRAJ’s findings on Eyewitness News, Mr. Yeboah, who led the young league of the CPP, to file the petition, said the President cannot be trusted since that single act constitutes failure on his part respect and protect policies that serve the interest of the country.

“We simply instructed them [CHRAJ] to do their investigations and they have come out to say that yes; the President is in breach of office…The President was not put there to breach laws, he was not put there to disrespect policies on gifts. In this instance, the President cannot be what he claims to be. He has failed in protecting the constitution of the Republic of Ghana, and in protecting the policy dictates … For us Ghanaians; we ask ourselves whether this is the man we would like to vote for. The point still remains that the man is in breach of the policy on gifts.”

“We elected him to protect the constitution of Ghana now he failed in doing so . The man who is occupying the highest office of the land cannot be trusted..He has a track record of breaching policies regarding gifts in this country.”

Mr. Yeboah further indicated that the Youth League of the CPP will soon decide on the next line of action to take on the development, adding that the party will soon come out in the coming days to state their position on the matter.
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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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However, the Commission said it did not find him guilty of bribery and conflict of interest. CHRAJ’s report follows a petition by the youth wing of the Convention People’s Party, which demanded a probe into the conduct of the President, for accepting the gift worth GHc100,000  from the contractor who was subsequently awarded some government contracts.

CHRAJ said the gift in question formed part of gifts prohibited under the Gift Policy under the Code of Conduct, and that although the evidence shows that President Mahama subsequently surrendered the gift to the State, the action nonetheless contravened the gift policy.

“Whilst the Respondent contravened the Gift Policy by accepting the Ford vehicle, his actions after the gift was made clearly cured any conflict of interest that could have been occasioned. In the circumstances, the Commission is satisfied that the Respondent’s conduct did not violate Article 284 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.”

The Commission said although the President violated the policy, the action did not amount to accepting a bribe because upon evidence, the President submitted the Ford Expedition gift to the state.

CHRAJ also established that the President was not culpable of conflict of interest, bribery or fraud in relation to the manner in which the vehicle was given to him.

“At the end of the preliminary investigation the Commission has come to the conclusion, based on the extensive evidence assembled, that the allegations that the Respondent has contravened Article 284 of the 1992 Constitution by putting himself in situations of conflict of interest has not been substantiated. Consequently, the Commission holds that full or further investigations into the allegations are not warranted. The allegations therefore, are hereby dismissed.”

CHRAJ’s full report on Mahama’s Ford gift saga

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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