Corruption in Ghana:Chief Director contests interdiction in court

Alhaji Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, has since the corruption impasse resigned from office The Chief Director of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mr Albert Anthony Ampong, is challenging his interdiction, following investigations into allegations of financial impropriety leveled against Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, the former sector minister. He is seeking a declaration that an order directed at him to refund $20,000 and a further order that sanctions must be applied against him are unlawful. Mr Ampong was ordered to proceed on leave on July 7, 2009, following recommendations from the National Security Committee which investigated financial impropriety leveled against Alhaji Mubarak by the Principal Accountant at the Sports Ministry. In an application for judicial review filed against the Attorney-General and the Head of the Civil Service, Mr Ampong is also seeking a declaration at the High Court that the decision of the Head of Civil Service to implement directives from the President was unlawful. The applicant is further praying the court to quash the decision to interdict him on the grounds that due process was not followed and, therefore, it was a violation of the relevant laws and disciplinary regulations of the Civil Service of Ghana. Mr Ampong is additionally seeking an order prohibiting the respondents from imposing any disciplinary sanctions against him on the basis of the National Security report on investigations into allegations against Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak. He is likewise praying the court to grant an order of mandamus to compel the Head of Civil Service to allow him to resume his normal duties as the Chief Director of the ministry among any other orders the court might deem fit. According to the applicant, the respondents acted illegally, unreasonably, capriciously arbitrarily and in an unfair manner. An affidavit in support of his application, stated that he was only called as a witness at the committee set up to investigate Alhaji Mubarak and not as an accused person. It said he testified at the committee, although he was refused legal representation, adding that he informed the committee that he had advanced $20,000 to Alhaji Mubarak after the money had been advanced to him by the Principal Accountant of the ministry. According to the affidavit, he had to date "not been furnished with a copy of the National Security's report into the allegations leveled against the then minister, even though the President purported to take a disciplinary decision against me and has recommended further disciplinary sanctions against me, on the strength of that report". It further stated that the Civil Service Council was the disciplinary authority for all civil servants and disciplinary proceedings in cases of misconduct and unsatisfactory service on the part of civil servants and therefore a civil servant could be disciplined only in accordance with strict adherence to the Civil Service Act and regulations and accepted principles of fairness, natural justice and rule of law. According to the applicant, he was denied legal representation as well as access to the responses of the then honourable minister to the various allegations, therefore such action violated the Civil Service regulations regarding proper investigations into suspected misconduct of civil servants and also basic standards of procedural fairness. The affidavit stated that the whole report of the National Security Committee in so far as it related to the findings of misconduct against him was unsustainable "to the extent that on the basis of the evidence before it, particularly the evidence of witnesses that appeared before it, no reasonable tribunal of fact applying itself seriously to the evidence, could have reached the conclusions against me in the manner the committee did". A date is yet to be fixed for hearing. Source: Daily Graphic