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General News on Thursday, May 2nd, 2019
Source: ABCnewsgh.com
2019-05-02
Rockson Bukari, former Minister of State for the Presidency
The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) described the attempt of a former state minister at the president's office, Rockson Bukari, to urge a journalist to abandon an article as a clear case of abuse of power for which he himself, the former minister, should be pursued ABC News Ghana can report.
According to the anti-graft body, Rockson Bukari, former regional minister and former state minister, should be the subject of an investigation for attempted violation of the law and punished when he is found guilty of violating the law.
On Monday, April 29, a press release announcing that Mr. Rockson Bukari had resigned from his position as Minister of State following an allegation of attempted video tape corruption, was released.
In this tape, Bukari was heard urging a Starr FM reporter, Edward Adeti, to drop an overwhelming article about a judge and a mining company, Shaanxi Mining Company Ltd. Mr. Bukari promised to "compensate" the journalist when he is obliged to request not to publish the story.
Speaking on Peace FM, general affairs director of the Ghana-based Integrity Initiative, Accra, Michael Boadi said the content of the audio says so much is disturbing that the minister's decision to resign may not be good enough.
"There are many forms of corruption and this problem is a clear example of abuse of power, if it is true. So, whether he accepted his mistakes or resigned, I think that, administratively, there should be investigations and, if necessary, sanctions, we give. Because if you look at our law, the draft law on the conduct of civil servants in Parliament has not yet been adopted, so it will be difficult to impose a penal sanction on the minister, "he said at the meeting. 39, an interview followed by ABC News Ghana.
Michael Boadi, however, advised Ghanaians to take a holistic approach to the issue and not to pbad judgment until all the facts would have been revealed during an investigation.
"I also think that many of us focus solely on the resignation of the minister, but we heard someone who went to see a judge before the minister called the reporter not to publish the case. Let's examine the role of the judge so as not to be biased in our judgment. A full investigation should be conducted so that we can deal with the problem in a comprehensive way, "he advised.
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