The Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Joseph Akanjolenur Whittal, joined a host of other officials to participate in a health walk to commemorate the 30th anniversary of CHRAJ.
The walk was to promote awareness on Human Rights and the need to protect others rights.
Dubbed ‘Know your rights’which started from its Head Office and moved through Tema station, some communities around Osu and diverted to the Independence Square andfinally cameback to the Head Office.
Participants were drawn fromCHRAJ offices in Greater Accra and Tema.
Cladded in anniversary T-shirts, the staff held placards with inscriptions such as, “Know your rights: CHRAJ is here to ensure your rights are protected,”“Don’t pay a bribe: If you pay bribes, you contribute to corruption,”“Demand expeditious and efficient services,”“Report issues on poor service delivery to CHRAJ,” among others.
Addressing the participants, Mr Whittal stated thatthe health walk was to send an indication to the public that the commission was mindful about the health of its staff.
He noted that it was important for the public to know they needed to take care of their health whiles appreciating and protecting their Fundamental Human Rights.
“Today, as we hit the streets with the message of health, we should let the public appreciate that whilst we are there to take care of complaints about the health of the people, we hold government accountable for whether they are giving, in terms of health to the people,” he noted.
Mr Whittal highlighted that the commission has received about 300,000 complaints through its 30 years of existence which were made up of human rights, administrative justice, and corruption cases.
Touching on the recent demonstration in Accra, Mr Whittal noted that it was the constitutional rights of every citizens to hit the street to register their displeasure over national issues.
Mr Whittal called on Parliament to pass the Conduct of Public Officers Bill, 2022 in order to hold public officers accountable.
According him, the passage of the bill into law would allow public office holder answerable to the citizens in a bid to help fight the immense corruption issues in the country.
BY CECILIA LAGBA YADA
