M&J scandal: Sipa Yankey, Attivor respond to CHRAJ's request

CHRAJ Commissioner Emile Short Two of the five officials named in the Mabey & Johnson scandal have responded to a CHRAJ request to them to respond to the allegations. A deadline to do so passed on October 31. The commission had sent letters to five officials, including, former Health Minister, Dr. George Sipa-Adja Yankey, former Roads & Highways Minister, Edward Lord Attivor, and to recently-designated High Commissioner to Nigeria, Baba Kamara. However in an interview with Joy News on Monday, Mr Short said only Dr Yankey and Mr Attivor had, as of Friday October 30, 2009, responded. This means three officials have yet to send in their responses, Mr Short indicated. Mr Short rules out subpoenaing the officials to appear before the commission but says the officials could still ask for an extension of the deadline. He however served notice that CHRAJ would take the necessary measures to force the officials to respond if they decide not to honour the commission’s request. “They could ask for an extension of time or we could choose to extend the time by sending them a reminder but if they fail or refuse to respond there are provisions whereby we could take the [matter] to court for disobedience to a lawful request made by the commission,” he said. Mr Short said the letters must be deemed as part of the commission’s work in helping establish the truth in the developments. “As part of our investigative procedure, we normally write a letter to persons we are investigating, outlining the allegations against them, giving them an opportunity to respond,” he added. The respondents had until Saturday October 31, 2009 to respond to the bribery allegations against them. The probe follows President Mills’ order to CHRAJ to look into the matter and it follows a preliminary investigation by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana