Former Road Transport Minister, Dr. Richard Anane, vetted on Tuesday by Parliament’s Appointment Committee after his re-nomination for the same portfolio by President J.A. Kufuor, may not be a free man yet.
Mr. Raymond Archer, Editor-in-Chief of The Enquirer newspaper, whose allegations of conflict of interest and dealings between the former Minister and his American mistress, Alexander O’Brien, led to the Minister’s resignation in October of 2006, says he has fresh evidence to press charges against Anane.
According to Raymond, who spoke on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Tuesday shortly before the former Minister appeared in Parliament to be vetted, he would petition the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice with the fresh evidence if he is not satisfied by the outcome of Parliament’s vetting.
For Raymond, a satisfactory outcome would be that Anane is disqualified by the august house because in his view, the former Minister is ‘not fit for reconsideration’ for that position.
CHRAJ found Dr. Anane guilty of the allegations by the Editor, and recommended his removal from office, however, the High Court, chaired by Justice Baffoe Boney and subsequently the Supreme Court, nullified CHRAJ’s decisions and asked that all records regarding the proceedings and findings be expunged from the records.
The Courts held that the Commission erred in investigating the Minister without a formal complaint by a complainant.
But not willing to disclose what new evidence he has against Dr. Anane, Raymond said he was not party to two memoranda said to have been filed in Parliament against Dr. Anane’s re-nomination, insisting however that he may proceed to the CHRAJ.
Asked by show host, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah why he has not filed the petition yet long after the Supreme Court quashed CHRAJ’s adverse findings against Dr. Anane, Raymond said he would not be involved in any fanciful exercise knowing that the case could be rendered a waste.
He explained that President Kufuor who has amply demonstrated his desire to make Dr. Anane part of his government again, has about ten months of his term left, while investigations into the allegations could last well beyond the President’s remaining time in office.
Again, he did not file the petition in order not to pre-empt the President’s decision, but given any ‘unsatisfactory’ decision from Parliament, he would take Anane to CHRAJ again.
Anane himself is suing Archer for libel, however, according Archer, Anane is using the suit to buy time because he has demonstrated he is not interested in prosecuting the case.
He said it is over a year now since Dr. Anane filed the libel suit but he has yet to ‘appear before the court even though he claimed he wanted to clear his name’. He is rather defending himself with technicalities, said Raymond.
Reminded by Ken Anku, a close confidant of Dr. Anane who was on the programme that since Dr. Anane has taken the matter to court, Raymond cannot go to CHRAJ on the same subject and facts, Raymond said Dr. Anane’s libel suit is specific to the allegation of conflict of interest. ‘The matter at CHRAJ is much wider than the conflict of interest,’ he maintained.
According to Ken Anku, the law would not permit CHRAJ to go into the case, while Raymond himself, after 13 months of the case, would not be permitted by the law to go back to CHRAJ on the same subject.
Source: MJFM
