Rastafarian Council abandons CHRAJ petition after meeting with DVLA director

General News on Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Source: citinewsroom.com

2019-04-09

The Rastafarian Council of Ghana canceled its decision to refer to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) what it described as human rights abuses. by the West Regional Director of the DVLA, Emmanuel Narh.

It was after Mr. Narh had stated that his office was not licensing any Rastafarian, some of them using drugs.

The national president of the Rastafarian Council, Ahumah Bosco Ocansey, who has been pursuing the affair since the head of the DVLA made this remark during a radio interview last month, said he accepted the apology of the National Director of DVLA, Mr. Kwasi Agyeman Busia.

"We agreed that the excuses were enough and we decided to stay. The petition we intended to submit to the CHRAJ. All the meeting with [Kwasi Agyeman Busia] was cordial. He reiterated his position that Emmanuel Narh's statement and postures were contrary to the posture of the DVLA and in particular his strategy and direction as the leader of the DVLA, "he said. declared.

Rastafarians demanded an apology and dismissal from Narh for making discriminatory comments about Skyy Power FM, based in Takoradi.

When he responded to a text message on a broadcast, he explained why the DVLA had refused to grant driving licenses to certain Rastafarians, he said;

"For our work, we have a code of ethics and we have the conduct of drivers. Before the DVLA trains or approves your pilot status, we must closely monitor and physically examine you. We need to know if the person is over eighteen. Are you somebody healthy in the mind and do you have good eyesight? He asked.

"In Ghana, there are two types of rastafarian groups; there are those who are Rastafarian for religious purposes. When you come to DVLA, it's not all Rastafarians we do not license. We ask you; if you belong to a credible religious group, you have to show us some piece of identification, which perhaps convinces us that it may be in your family, there is a reason why you do not have to you cut your hair. When that happens, we can give you the license. Or that you belong to a Rasta religious group that behaves very well; So, if you present us with your identity card, we will give you a driver's license or drive you to a driving school for training. "

"But if we do not identify you as belonging to one of these groups and you come from a ghetto with your neglected Rasta and we have all the evidence, nobody will worry about it, " he added.

The comment caused an uproar, forcing the national director to immediately order him to come to Accra to explain the circumstances in which he made comments that were clearly not in accordance with the DVLA's statutes.