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Emile Short
Top 10 Talking Points from Emile Short's Bold interview.

Justice Emile Short, was a guest on one of Ghana's longest running, developmental Talk Shows, Time With David. As has become the norm, the episode hosted by veteran broadcaster David Ampofo, will is likely to spark a lot of conversation and headlines. Here are some key statements from the conversation:

1. As the conversation began, David Ampofo quizzed Mr. Short on the report by the Commission of enquiry which he headed following the violent incidents during the by-election in Ayawaso West Wogon. Mr.  Short stated that protocol does not permit him to discuss the report as its findings could still be  appealed in a Court. When asked if he would ever be able to speak on the issue, Mr.  Short said "I'm not sure I'd be able to talk about it ever.  Because of my role"

2. "We're losing about Two to Three Billion Dollars yearly, to corruption" . "People have to understand how much were losing to corruption"

3. Mr. Short asserted during the interview that, "The Police CID is not an independent body". This he explained is due to the presidential influence over the office of IGP, amongst other factors. After all, he is an appointee of the President which should not be the case.

4.Speaking on the Special Prosecutor and his office, Mr. Short made statements such as, "I was very pleased when Martin Amidu was appointed.  He has made a lot of effort in trying to fight corruption" He also confessed, "I know what Martin Amidu has in court.  The public has been inpatient and want to see high profile cases.  His track record shows that he has the courage to address corruption"

5. He also asked for a more transparent Council of State. "Nobody knows what advice the council of state gives to the president and if he accepts it".

6. Mr. Short stated that in practice, we do not implement the death penalty.  He advocated for it to be removed, because it does not act as a deterrent and there could be miscarriage of justice.

7. Emile Short declared that he is not happy with governance in Ghana at the moment.  He stated that he does not think we are doing well, in the fight against corruption. He bemoaned the lack of commitment needed to achieve success.  

8. In 1995, we set the precedence of investigating high level officers on allegations of corruption.

9. Speaking about huge campaign expenditure, as a  cause of corruption, Mr. Short argued that politicians who spend exuberantly to be elected, "recover expenses by awarding contracts which are often overpriced".

10. He called for a situation where MPs who are appointed as ministers are made to give up their parliamentary seat to ensure proper oversight of the executive.




Emile Short on Time with David

"When you lose, you lose everything. When you win, you win everything" - Emile Short speaks

Former Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Mr. Emile Short, was recently in the news for attributing the shameless looting of funds by corrupt politicians, to the need to recover campaign expenditure.

The former Judge, sat across from veteran broadcaster David Ampofo, to have a conversation that bordered around corruption and the fight against it. Addressing the recent PDS-ECG debacle, Emile Short stated "It's obvious there wasn't due diligence".

Speaking during the freshly-released Time With David conversation, Mr. Short admitted that the winner takes all system of politics is part of the problems, that contribute to making corruption a malignant issue. He explained that this is because the stakes are high. "When you lose, you lose everything. When you win, you win everything", emphasized Emile Short.

Mr. Short clarified the importance of passing laws like the Conduct of public officers bill, which has been pending since 2013. He expressed disappointment that parliament has not passed that bill and advocated for it to receive expeditious attention.

Emile Short at different points in the interview, referenced Singaporean Leader, Lee Kuan Yew who ran a system of meritocracy and stated that "corruption is a threat to society", as a shinning example in the fight against corruption.

When referred by the host, to a statement by Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu, Mr. Emile Short agreed that leadership must crack the whip. Speaking further on the special prosecutor and his office, Mr. Short said he was very pleased when Martin Amidu was appointed. He confessed that the special prosecutor has made great effort in trying to fight corruption and added that the public has unrealistic expectations.


"I know what Martin Amidu has in court", Emile Short told David Ampofo, before asserting, "the public has been inpatient and want to see some high profile cases". Mr. Emile Short held the view that Martin Amidu's track record shows that he has the courage to address corruption. He described the Police CID as not being an independent body and cited the Australian Visa Scandal and the Mining Scandal sparked by an Anas Aremeyaw Anas expose, as cases of corruption that were investigated and cleared by the CID, with reports that remain unpublished. Mr. Short observed that such occurrences do not give people confidence in the system.

During the interview, Mr. Emile Short disclosed that he is retired and enjoying it, playing a lot of golf and reading.

The exclusive conversation here:







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