Posted
on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By
William Yaw Owusu
Tuesday,
July 25, 2017
The two top
Electoral Commission (EC) officials caught up in the alleged corruption scandal
continue to trade accusations.
The Chairperson of
the EC, Charlotte Osei, dropped a bombshell over the weekend when she accused
her deputy in-charge of Operations, Amadu Sulley, of collecting about GH¢6 million
from political parties without recourse to the commission.
Mrs Osei, who has
been accused of abuse of office and corruption by some unnamed EC staff, said
in her response to the petition asking for her impeachment that Amadu Sulley,
apart from collecting money illegally, also carried out illegal vote transfers
in the run-up to the crucial 2016 general elections.
“The Deputy
Chairperson, Operations, collected funds above GH¢6 million in cash from some
political parties for the organization of party primaries without recourse to
the structures of the Commission, and without the involvement of the finance
department of the Commission,” she said.
Even though the EC chairperson did not mention
the name of the political parties that paid money to Amadu Sulley, DAILY
GUIDE has learnt that the NDC paid an amount of over GH¢5.5 million to
the EC for its primaries in 2015 ahead of the 2016 polls allegedly with no
receipt issued.
The EC boss said, “Political
party primaries were treated as a private commercial project by the Deputy
Chairperson, Operations, with funds paid directly into the personal accounts of
key staff for functions to be performed for party primaries.”
Mrs Osei attached an
internal audit report highlighting widespread malfeasance in the conduct of
party primaries under the supervision of Amadu Sulley, as part of the evidence
in her defence of the allegations that have been brought against her and stated
that “this situation cannot be allowed to continue.”
Vote Transfer
According to the EC
Chairperson, “Amadu Sulley has persistently instructed officials to carry out
illegal vote transfers on the Voter Management System in clear breach of the
law and operational policies of the Commission. Such actions have major
implications for the integrity of the work of the Commission and constitute
abuse of office.”
Surreptitious Attempt
She said in her
response to the petition, “A surreptitious attempt was made to remove the
Chairperson of the Commission from the GIFMIS platform to enable payments to
continue to be made on the blind side of the Chairperson.”
She admitted ‘systemic
failure’ of financial management systems at the EC, saying, “In some cases,
Commission funds are paid into personal accounts of staff members at the
regional offices.”
Financial Fraud
Mrs Charlotte Osei said
in 2015, attempts she made to stop district electoral officers from inserting
ghost names on the list of officials recruited for the 2015 district level
elections to enable them to appropriate the allowances for the officials,
resulted in the Chairperson being reported to the BNI for investigation.
“In the report
attached hereto dated September 23, 2015, staff, according to the BNI, admit to
a culture of misappropriation of funds meant for electoral staff, and assert
that this practice is a ‘convention’ at the Commission. A work culture that
permits some staff to steal with such boldness is extremely unfortunate and cannot
be allowed to continue.”
Petitioners
DAILY GUIDE understands that the petitioners who are
still unknown are most likely to include Amadu Sulley and his colleague, Ms.
Georgina Opoku-Amankwaa, Deputy Chairperson, Corporate Services of the
Commission - who is currently on interdiction over alleged misappropriation of Welfare
Funds for staff of the commission.
Total Breakdown
Mrs Charlotte Osei
averred that her deputies were taking official decisions without her consent,
saying, “While on leave in June 2017, the Deputy Chairperson, without
authorization and notice to the Chairperson, approved 2015 financial statements
of the Commission, an increase in the amount for fuel coupons (beyond budgeted
levels) and without prior knowledge and authorization of the Chairperson or the
Commission.”
She said Mrs.
Opoku-Amankwaa “went on an unauthorised leave from May 19 - June 19, 2017
without notice to the Chairperson and without prior approval,” adding, “A sick
leave note was subsequently submitted to the Director of HR.”
Terse Response
In the confusion, Amadu
Sulley reportedly sent a text message to Starr
FM yesterday saying that he was consulting his lawyers over the allegations.
“I want to assure
you that it’s not true. I have all the documents and I am going for legal
advice,” he averred.
NDC Money
It is unclear which
political parties paid the money to the Deputy Director in-charge of Operations
for its primaries as alleged by Mrs Charlotte Osei.
However, it will be recalled that in February
2016 the accountant of the then ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) who
was fired by the party, revealed that it (party) had paid huge sums of money to
the EC.
According to Mathias
Mokono Wilson - who claimed to have worked with the party as accountant for 23
years - a total amount of GH¢5.544,630 was withdrawn through him and the
General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, on behalf of the EC.
"Myself and
Asiedu Nketia went to the bank and withdrew money on behalf of the EC,” the
beleaguered accountant told Citi Fm
in Accra.
On February 10, 2016,
Mr. Wilson filed a suit at the Labour Division of the Accra High Court through
his solicitors from Azinyo Chambers against the NDC for unlawful dismissal,
claiming that the party gave him only a week’s notice to leave the head office
at Adabraka, Accra, instead of the mandatory three months after he had been
accused of releasing Presidential Nominee Forms to a party member - George
Boateng - who wanted to contest then sitting President John Mahama.
Cheque Details
Giving details of
the payments to the EC, the accountant said there were different cheques he
withdrew together with Mr Asiedu Nketia on different dates at Societe Generale,
Accra Main, on behalf of the EC, although he admitted that “I am not a
signatory to the NDC account.”
According to him, “The
first cheque was GH¢630,000; the second cheque was GH¢357,000; the third cheque
was GH¢2 million, then followed by GH¢2.199,340, then followed by GH¢69,315,
GH¢54,975, GH¢140,000 and GH¢100,000, totaling GH¢5.544,630.”
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