The Attorney-General’s Department has debunked media reports that an investigative report by the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) on alleged corruption relating to waste management company Zoomlion is missing
According to the department, it received two CHRAJ reports in June 2018. It explained that both reports were forwarded under cover of a letter with the subject ‘Submission of report of investigation pursuant to section 10 (3) of The Whistleblower Act 2006 (ACT 720)’.
The department said the first report, dated June 7, 2018, was received on June 11, 2018 and was forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecution.
Similarly, the second report, dated June 22, 2018, was received on June 27, 2018 and was forwarded to the Solicitor-General for necessary attention.
According to the Attorney-General’s Department, the CHRAJ report submitted in June 2018 is on a 2007 contract on Sanitation Improvement Programme and waste management.
However, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) dockets currently under review by the Attorney-General’s Department also covers the period between 2012 and 2017 on fumigation.
The department noted that these are two separate matters, and both the docket from CID and the CHRAJ report are receiving the necessary attention.
According to the A-G’s Department, when investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni first enquired about the report, he stated that there was a report on Zoomlion sent to A-G’s office by CHRAJ.
However, the department said a search of its data system could not trace any such report because the entries made in its system captures the subject matter as is on the forwarding letter, the date of the letter, and the date received.
“We, therefore, could not trace ‘a CHRAJ Report on Zoomlion’ in our data system since those details were not details captured into the system.
“This cannot be interpreted by any stretch of imagination that the CHRAJ report is missing,” it added.
According to the A-G’s office, during a prosecution retreat, Manasseh Azure Awuni was invited to give them an overview of the investigation he conducted.
A-G’s office stated that after Manasseh Azure Awuni’s brief, officers of the department explained to him what is required to mount a successful prosecution.
According to the officers, Manasseh Azure Awuni promised to provide them with more documents showing evidence of payments made to the company, but till date Manasseh Azure Awuni has been unable to give staff of A-G’s Department the documents promised.
Staff of the department claimed that Manasseh Azure Awuni subsequently directed them to the Director in charge of Legal at the Auditor-General’s Office for the documents required, and the DPP was in touch with the director, but the A-G’s Department still does not have the full complement of the documents.
The department said it continues to work diligently to ensure that the tenets of justice are upheld in all matters brought before it.
The department further urges journalists to desist from hurried attempts to misreport matters in a manner that causes public apprehension.
Source: The Finder
