A human rights activist, Nana Oye Lithur, has described the alleged bribery scandal involving some public officials as a test case for President Mills's commitment to the fight against corruption. She told the Daily Graphic that it would be interesting to see how President Mills responded to the issue vis-a-vis his promise not to shield any member of his government who was found to have indulged in corruption. The officials are accused by Mabey and Johnson (M&J), a UK-based construction firm which operated in Ghana between 1991 and 2005 as having received bribes from the company in favour of contracts. Officials cited in the bribery scandal which was the subject of a court ruling in London, are Dr Obed Asamoah, a former Foreign Minister and Minister of Justice and Attorney General; Mr Kwame Peprah, a former Minister of Finance; Dr. George Sipa Yankey Minister of Health Alhaji Amadu Seidu, a former Minister of State at the Castle and former Deputy Minister of Road and Highways. The rest are Dr Ato Quarshie, a former Minister of Roads and Highways; Alhaji Abubakar Saddique Boniface, a former Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing in the Kufuor administration, who was a Director of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning at the time of the alleged scandal, and one Mr Edward Attipoe. Nana Oye Lithur said following the public pronouncement by President Mills to fight corruption, civil society would be interested in knowing how he would handle the matter. She said one of the setbacks of former President Kufuor was that although he declared a zero tolerance for corruption on assumption of office, throughout his tenure, he was not seen to be tackling corruption head-on. Nana Oye Lithur cautioned President Mills not to repeat the mistakes of his predecessor. She said although the case did not occur under the regime of President Mills, the fact that the issue concerned a member of his Cabinet and some members of his party should be a source of worry to him. Meanwhile, President Mills has directed the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to institute investigations into the bribery scandal. Source: Daily Graphic