What Is Conflict Of Interest?

By Stephen Kwabena Effah & Lizzy-Ann Nyama
Thursday, 05 October 2006 (Page 3)


The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) says the insufficient definition of, or code of conduct for public officers on, conflict of interest in the Constitution makes the processing of allegations before it a difficult task.

"The 1992 Constitution cautions public officers against placing themselves in conflict of interest positions, but does not provide sufficient definition or guide to conflict of interest," said Richard Quayson, CHRAJ’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Education and Anti-Corruption.

Mr. Quayson said this at a workshop organized by the CHRAJ in Accra yesterday, for media practitioners, to elicit their inputs to draft guidelines on conflict of interest developed by the commission.

The guidelines are designed to protect the integrity of official policy, administrative decisions and of public management.

Mr. Quayson said conflict of interest is a complex issue that reflects the structural problems of civilized society and relates to several facets.

He said that corruption and abuse of political and administrative powers for self-interest whether by an individual, group or party, is a problem in Africa that has disastrous damaging effect on both the public and private sectors.

The situation therefore requires policy-makers, government, public officials and all partners to "rethink and renew the national consciousness with new values and new cultural orientation aimed at avoiding and preventing those consequences that readily lead them to corruption".

Mr.Quayson said it was in this direction that the commission had designed the guidelines to, among other things, provide a general framework for determining conflict of interest situations and also guide public officials in the conduct of public business to address unethical behaviour in all public offices.

"An important strategy of the commission’s corruption prevention programme is to promote transparent and accountable practices, and built-in safeguards to minimize the possibility of the decision-making process being compromised by self interest," he stressed.

Presenting a paper on "The Anti-Corruption Mandate of CHRAJ", the acting Commissioner, Ms. Anna Bossman, said the insufficient definition on conflict of interest in the constitution "has not affected the commission’s work much" but added that there is the need to clarify the issue.