Posted: The Chronicle Monday, April 27, 2009
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
Foreign Affairs Minister, Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni is obviously not having things easy since occupying the Foreign Affairs Ministry as the nation's number one Diplomat, considering the pressure being brought to bear on him to resign his position.
After months of failed attempts to get him out of office, the pressure group, Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) has finally petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to conduct investigations into the conduct of Alhaji Mumuni, which they alleged have resulted in huge losses to the state.
After months of failed attempts to get him out of office, the pressure group, Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) has finally petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to conduct investigations into the conduct of Alhaji Mumuni, which they alleged have resulted in huge losses to the state.
The issues border on allegations of financial improprieties, corruption, abuse of office and power, and improper conduct at the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare from 1999 to 2000, and as temporary head of the Ministry of Interior in January, 2009, and on his assumption of office at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
The petition, which was presented to CHRAJ, was signed on behalf of the group by Accra-based legal practitioner and member of AFAG, Mr. Godfred Dame.
The group noted that somewhere in the year 2004, in exercising the powers conferred on him under article 187 of the 1992 Constitution, the Auditor-General commissioned a group of auditors, Messrs. Baffour Awuah & Associates to conduct a forensic audit into the activities and operations of the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI), an institute under the purview of Alhaji Mumuni, when he was the Minister of Employment and Social Welfare for the period January 1997 to December 2002.
In the final forensic audit report presented to the Auditor-General, they noted that specific findings of financial improprieties, corruption, fraud and abuse of office were made against Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, who is now the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The auditors established that through the gross negligence and misconduct of Alhaji Mumuni, the state had lost a colossal amount of Ë15 billion old cedis through his involvement in the purported disbursement of funds to the NVTI alone.
Further, the group alleged that Alhaji Mumuni was found to have authorized the fraudulent releases of money in excess of Ë19 billion old cedis from the Consolidated Fund (the nation's public fund reserves), into an undisclosed account, stressing that "the present Minister for Foreign Affairs had engaged in a "conspiratorial web of fraud tantamount to money laundering", and had failed to ensure compliance with financial administration regulations on budgetary control procedures pertaining to a Ministry he was head of between 1997 and 2000, i.e. the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare."
For this reason, they noted that "it was finally recommended by the auditors that Alhaji Mumuni should be made to ensure the refund of the money in question, into government chest", stressing that the said audit report as referred has been adopted by the Auditor-General and is now the official report of the Auditor-General of the Republic of Ghana.
They are, therefore, among others seeking a relief for the Commission to declare that the acts of omission of Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni spelt out above while serving as the Minister for Employment and Social Welfare in the year 1999/2000 amounted to corruption, and an abuse of office and state resources.
They are also asking the Commission to declare such acts as being prejudicial to the interest of the nation and an abuse of power, and to declare him unfit to occupy the position of Minister of State.
Below are the rest of the charges brought against the Minister as stated by AFAG; Alhaji Mumuni, purportedly acting on the strength of an illegal appointment by President Mills as a temporary head of the Ministry of Interior in January, 2009, at a time when he had not been properly nominated by His Excellency President J. E. A. Mills as a Minister for Interior, dismissed the lawfully appointed Head of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), ACP Douglas Akrofi.
Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni extended the reach of his tentacles to the Ministry of Roads and Transport to remove the acting Head of the Driver and Vehicle Examination and Licensing Authority (DVLA).
He purported to engage in further unlawful conduct by unconstitutionally imposing curfews on Bawku, a town in the Upper-East Region of the Republic of Ghana. This was a power exercisable by a Minister of State properly nominated, approved and appointed in accordance with the Constitution of Ghana, 1992.
Upon being approved by Parliament as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni continued with his acts of impunity and unruly conduct.
On the 14th day of April, 2009, upon the instructions of Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, the Acting Director of the Legal and Consular Bureau purported to terminate a headquarters agreement between the Government of Ghana and Africa Legal Aid (AFLA), a pan-African international organization, with its headquarters in Accra, Ghana, and working
for the promotion and protection of human rights and the creation of a progressive human rights jurisprudence in Africa, without regard to the mandatory provisions of the said agreement and due process.
Without providing any reason, whatsoever, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni ordered the immediate termination of the Headquarters agreement by the Government of Ghana. It is pertinent to note that no dispute had occurred between the Government of Ghana and AFLA to warrant the termination of the agreement. There had not been recourse to arbitration proceedings as directed by the mandatory provisions of the agreement. Further, Alhaji Mumuni elected to ignore the requirement of the agreement of a six (6) months' notice in writing to AFLA before the Government of Ghana could terminate the agreement.
It is also instructive to note that no reason was assigned by the Minister for Foreign Affairs for the withdrawal of the rights, immunities and privileges conferred on AFLA by this headquarters agreement, as is required by the rule of law.
This particular conduct of Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni evidences the gross impunity characteristic of the nature of the incumbent Foreign Minister of Ghana. The conduct of Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni while acting as a public officer as the Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, led to the loss of a colossal amount of money which could have been legitimately applied for the nation's developmental and investment drive. The actions and inactions of Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni grossly undermined the nation's development and efforts to curb corruption and abuse of office.
Further, the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992 in its article 78(1) sets out the qualification of a person suitable to be appointed as a Minister of State as follows:
78(1) Ministers of State shall be appointed by the President with the prior approval of Parliament from among members of Parliament or persons qualified to be elected as members of Parliament, except that the majority of Ministers of State shall be appointed from among members of Parliament.
It goes without saying therefore that the qualification of a person for the position of a Minister of State hinges on his eligibility to be a member of Parliament. Article 94(2) of the Constitution, 1992 is as follows:
A person shall not be qualified to be a member of Parliament if he has been found by the report of a commission or a committee of inquiry to be incompetent to hold public office or is a person in respect of whom a commission or committee of inquiry has found that while being a public officer he acquired assets unlawfully or defrauded the State or misused or abused his office, or willfully acted in a manner prejudicial to the interest of the State, and the findings have not set aside on appeal or judicial review.
Relevant Links
It is noted that Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni is now a Minister of State. A finding of corruption, abuse of office or conduct in a manner prejudicial to the interest of the state by your esteemed commission after a due inquiry would render him unfit for the position he holds. With particular reference to the January 2009 actions of Alhaji Mumuni, same were hugely offensive and grossly sinned against the letter and spirit of the 1992 Constitution, as well as other relevant laws because at the time of the commission of the impugned acts, Alhaji Mumuni had not even been properly nominated as a Minister of State, in accordance with article 78 of the Constitution. He exercised the powers of a Minister when he had not appeared before Parliament for prior approval.
Again, in respect of the conduct of Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni in authorization of the unlawful termination of the Headquarters Agreement between the Government of Ghana and the Africa Legal Aid, gross impunity and abuse of due process were evident. Alhaji Mumuni's action has the tendency to send chilling signals to the nation's diplomatic partners and development agencies.
The petition, which was presented to CHRAJ, was signed on behalf of the group by Accra-based legal practitioner and member of AFAG, Mr. Godfred Dame.
The group noted that somewhere in the year 2004, in exercising the powers conferred on him under article 187 of the 1992 Constitution, the Auditor-General commissioned a group of auditors, Messrs. Baffour Awuah & Associates to conduct a forensic audit into the activities and operations of the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI), an institute under the purview of Alhaji Mumuni, when he was the Minister of Employment and Social Welfare for the period January 1997 to December 2002.
In the final forensic audit report presented to the Auditor-General, they noted that specific findings of financial improprieties, corruption, fraud and abuse of office were made against Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, who is now the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The auditors established that through the gross negligence and misconduct of Alhaji Mumuni, the state had lost a colossal amount of Ë15 billion old cedis through his involvement in the purported disbursement of funds to the NVTI alone.
Further, the group alleged that Alhaji Mumuni was found to have authorized the fraudulent releases of money in excess of Ë19 billion old cedis from the Consolidated Fund (the nation's public fund reserves), into an undisclosed account, stressing that "the present Minister for Foreign Affairs had engaged in a "conspiratorial web of fraud tantamount to money laundering", and had failed to ensure compliance with financial administration regulations on budgetary control procedures pertaining to a Ministry he was head of between 1997 and 2000, i.e. the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare."
For this reason, they noted that "it was finally recommended by the auditors that Alhaji Mumuni should be made to ensure the refund of the money in question, into government chest", stressing that the said audit report as referred has been adopted by the Auditor-General and is now the official report of the Auditor-General of the Republic of Ghana.
They are, therefore, among others seeking a relief for the Commission to declare that the acts of omission of Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni spelt out above while serving as the Minister for Employment and Social Welfare in the year 1999/2000 amounted to corruption, and an abuse of office and state resources.
They are also asking the Commission to declare such acts as being prejudicial to the interest of the nation and an abuse of power, and to declare him unfit to occupy the position of Minister of State.
Below are the rest of the charges brought against the Minister as stated by AFAG; Alhaji Mumuni, purportedly acting on the strength of an illegal appointment by President Mills as a temporary head of the Ministry of Interior in January, 2009, at a time when he had not been properly nominated by His Excellency President J. E. A. Mills as a Minister for Interior, dismissed the lawfully appointed Head of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), ACP Douglas Akrofi.
Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni extended the reach of his tentacles to the Ministry of Roads and Transport to remove the acting Head of the Driver and Vehicle Examination and Licensing Authority (DVLA).
He purported to engage in further unlawful conduct by unconstitutionally imposing curfews on Bawku, a town in the Upper-East Region of the Republic of Ghana. This was a power exercisable by a Minister of State properly nominated, approved and appointed in accordance with the Constitution of Ghana, 1992.
Upon being approved by Parliament as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni continued with his acts of impunity and unruly conduct.
On the 14th day of April, 2009, upon the instructions of Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, the Acting Director of the Legal and Consular Bureau purported to terminate a headquarters agreement between the Government of Ghana and Africa Legal Aid (AFLA), a pan-African international organization, with its headquarters in Accra, Ghana, and working
for the promotion and protection of human rights and the creation of a progressive human rights jurisprudence in Africa, without regard to the mandatory provisions of the said agreement and due process.
Without providing any reason, whatsoever, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni ordered the immediate termination of the Headquarters agreement by the Government of Ghana. It is pertinent to note that no dispute had occurred between the Government of Ghana and AFLA to warrant the termination of the agreement. There had not been recourse to arbitration proceedings as directed by the mandatory provisions of the agreement. Further, Alhaji Mumuni elected to ignore the requirement of the agreement of a six (6) months' notice in writing to AFLA before the Government of Ghana could terminate the agreement.
It is also instructive to note that no reason was assigned by the Minister for Foreign Affairs for the withdrawal of the rights, immunities and privileges conferred on AFLA by this headquarters agreement, as is required by the rule of law.
This particular conduct of Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni evidences the gross impunity characteristic of the nature of the incumbent Foreign Minister of Ghana. The conduct of Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni while acting as a public officer as the Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, led to the loss of a colossal amount of money which could have been legitimately applied for the nation's developmental and investment drive. The actions and inactions of Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni grossly undermined the nation's development and efforts to curb corruption and abuse of office.
Further, the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992 in its article 78(1) sets out the qualification of a person suitable to be appointed as a Minister of State as follows:
78(1) Ministers of State shall be appointed by the President with the prior approval of Parliament from among members of Parliament or persons qualified to be elected as members of Parliament, except that the majority of Ministers of State shall be appointed from among members of Parliament.
It goes without saying therefore that the qualification of a person for the position of a Minister of State hinges on his eligibility to be a member of Parliament. Article 94(2) of the Constitution, 1992 is as follows:
A person shall not be qualified to be a member of Parliament if he has been found by the report of a commission or a committee of inquiry to be incompetent to hold public office or is a person in respect of whom a commission or committee of inquiry has found that while being a public officer he acquired assets unlawfully or defrauded the State or misused or abused his office, or willfully acted in a manner prejudicial to the interest of the State, and the findings have not set aside on appeal or judicial review.
Relevant Links
It is noted that Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni is now a Minister of State. A finding of corruption, abuse of office or conduct in a manner prejudicial to the interest of the state by your esteemed commission after a due inquiry would render him unfit for the position he holds. With particular reference to the January 2009 actions of Alhaji Mumuni, same were hugely offensive and grossly sinned against the letter and spirit of the 1992 Constitution, as well as other relevant laws because at the time of the commission of the impugned acts, Alhaji Mumuni had not even been properly nominated as a Minister of State, in accordance with article 78 of the Constitution. He exercised the powers of a Minister when he had not appeared before Parliament for prior approval.
Again, in respect of the conduct of Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni in authorization of the unlawful termination of the Headquarters Agreement between the Government of Ghana and the Africa Legal Aid, gross impunity and abuse of due process were evident. Alhaji Mumuni's action has the tendency to send chilling signals to the nation's diplomatic partners and development agencies.
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