Ghana’s embattled minister for road transportation, Dr. Richard Anane has tendered his resignation to president John Kufuor. This comes after an investigation by the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), which acts as an ombudsman, found that Anane used government funds to pay his mistress an amount of one hundred thousand dollars. The commission then advised the government to dismiss him. However, the minister is in court to challenge the findings while maintaining his innocence.
Meanwhile executive members of Dr. Anane’s constituency in the Ashanti region of Ghana threatened to resign en mass if President Kufuor went ahead to implement the CHRAJ recommendations.
Kwamena Bartels is Ghana’s minister of information and national orientation. He spoke with VOA English to Africa reporter Peter Clottey about Anane’s resignation.
“Yesterday evening, he met with the president and submitted a letter of resignation. He made it clear to the president that, following the human rights and administrative justice report on him, he felt dissatisfied with the ruling, and that he was going to go to court, challenging the basis of the decision that were arrived at in respect of him. But to do that, he felt it was the honorable thing for him to resign his position as the minister for road transport. The president accepted the resignation and thanked him for the very loyal hard work that he had given to the government of Ghana. So yesterday night, I issued a statement confirming that the president has accepted his resignation of Dr. Richard Anane,” Bartels said.
Bartels said president Kufuor was not happy about Anane’s resignation but had to accept it because it was Anane’s choice.
“… He felt quite sad because this is one of the most-hard working ministers that he has had in his government, and someone who has shown extreme loyalty and competence in his work. But I believe he also respected the position of Dr. Richard Anane that he wanted to vindicate his reputation in the court. And to do that, he felt that the more honorable thing for him to do was for him to resign. So it was with a lot of regret, but he nevertheless was obliged to accept it,” Bartels noted.
Bartels said the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) that investigated Dr. Anane did not find him guilty of graft.
“... The CHRAJ itself made it clear that, the gentleman was not guilty of corruption. He was accused of having perjured parliament and having been involved in a conflict of interest situation. These were the two issues that came up against him. But with respect to corruption, I must say that CHRAJ itself found as a fact that Dr. Richard Anane was not corrupt and that he had not been involved in any corrupt deals…” Bartels said.
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