THE Newly appointed Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Ms Lauretta Vivian Lamptey, has declared her determination to fight corruption in all forms, without fear or favour.“The ability to stick to your principles, contrary to the position that others have, is what makes you who you are,” she said.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in an exclusive interview in Accra, Ms Lamptey said she was an “anti-corruptionist in all forms”.
Ms Lamptey is the second substantive commissioner since CHRAJ was set up in 1993 by Act 456.
Her appointment follows the retirement of Mr Justice Emile Short 2010 and the resignation of her deputy, Ms Anna Bossman, in May this year.
Until her appointment, Ms Lamptey was a representative of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) on the board of the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB).
Ms Lamptey, who is a legal practitioner, investigator and ombudsman, said, “Having the right training is not necessarily what one has to bring on board but the ability to understand the issue of whether it is a human rights mandate or an anti-corruption mandate.”
According to her, the position as CHRAJ boss mandated her to clean up corruption, which required one to be fair, strong and independent, as well put the nation first.
On the issue of human rights, which are one of the core mandates of the commission, she said there was the need for more education for the citizenry to understand what was and what was not a human rights issue.
She said there was the need for effective communication for people to understand when their rights were being trampled upon and, therefore, had the right to report such abuse.
She said her outfit would operate an open-door policy, of which fairness would be the hallmark.
Ms Lamptey said although there would always be an opposing side to an issue, being able to be firm and decisive was key.
A one-time investment banker, Ms Lamptey, who praised her predecessors for the yeoman’s work that they had done at the commission, said she would also focus on enhancing and raising CHRAJ’s profile internationally.
She said the commission would work on issues in accordance with internationally set standards, noting that “human rights do not exist in a vacuum”.
She was, however, quick to add that the commission, in looking at best practices, would not neglect the country’s customs and traditions, saying that it would look at issues on the basis of what was acceptable and tolerant first.
On the issue of under-staffing and the lack of resources confronting CHRAJ, Ms Lamptey said, “If the problem is caused by budgeting, then it will not be a daunting task.”
She said CHRAJ would ensure that she made a case for the government to know what the consequences of budgeting constraints could mean for an institution like CHRAJ, noting that for CHRAJ to succeed in its investigations, which were mostly high-profile and, therefore, needed thorough investigations, there was the need for resources to be made available to it to perform effectively.
She bemoaned the fact that the commission, which had engaged as many as 80 lawyers in 2000, was now left with only 20 lawyers because of the lack of resources.
“This situation is unacceptable and frightening,” she said.
Ms Lamptey said she was ready for the task ahead, but indicated that there was the need for the country to follow international best practices by bringing on board commissioners who would bring a breath of different experience to play.
SOURCE: Rebecca Quaicoo-Duho & Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic
Mon August 1, 2011
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