Posted
on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By
William Yaw Owusu
Monday,
July 24, 2017
The infighting that
has rocked the Electoral Commission (EC) is getting nastier by the day with
revelations that some of the commissioners are neck deep in corrupt practices,
including inflating contract sums.
Since some unnamed
staff of the commission petitioned the president to initiate impeachment
proceedings against the Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, serious allegations of
abuse of office and corruption continue to be traded among the top hierarchy of
the commission unabated.
Mrs Charlotte Osei,
who was seeking the faces behind the petition, officially responded to the allegations
in the petition over the weekend but her response, in the view of many, has
revealed what appears to be a commission in disarray, creating an impression of
a chaotic situation.
Per the tone of the chairperson’s
response, there seems to be a compelling case that the commission is becoming
dysfunctional and might be incapable of continuing with its core mandate since its
boss appears to be at loggerheads with her two deputies and by extension, the other
commissioners as well.
Time Bomb
Many observers
believe that the petitioner’s ‘irreversible disunity’ claim among members of
the commission is the centerpiece of the whole scandal.
Mrs Osei confirmed clearly
in her response that all is not well with the top hierarchy of the elections
organizing body when she said that it was rather her subordinates who were
showing gross insubordination.
“Mrs. Osei is on
speaking terms with everyone at the Commission. The Deputy Chairpersons have
chosen to be grossly insubordinate and rude and there is ample documented
evidence to support this,” her lawyers said in her response to the damning
allegations against her.
Snubbing Chairperson
“Deputies take
managerial decisions and implement same without the knowledge of the
Chairperson; threaten staff that have direct dealings with the Chairperson;
take their leave without the approval of the Chairperson and implement major
administrative and operational decisions without the knowledge of the
Chairperson,” she exploded.
The EC boss admitted,
“There is only a breakdown of the structures for maladministration and illegal
financial dealings and not the administrative structures of the Commission as
claimed by the fictitious petitioners.”
Total Breakdown
“The Chairperson
will deal directly with directors when a deputy spends half of the working week
outside of Accra, particularly in a busy election year when decisions have to
be taken quickly.
The Chairperson has attempted to put in place structures at
the Commission to ensure that the Commission is managed in an efficient manner.
The Commission has no disciplinary committee or effective disciplinary
processes, no audit review committee or processes, no structured management
meetings, and no clear financial and administrative procedures and manuals.
This is unpardonable,” according to Mrs Osei.
Travel Matters
On her alleged travels
without informing her deputies, she said, “The Chairperson does not report to
the two deputies. These are deputies who constantly show insubordination, do
not come to work or come to work when they feel like, go on leave and travel
without the knowledge and approval of the Chairperson.
They clearly do not
respect their office or their role within the organisation. Corporate
governance procedures are clearly disregarded in their operational behaviour.”
Tit For Tat
Mrs Osei insisted
that as a ground for impeachment, it would also be proper for the Deputy
Chairpersons to be impeached for all the times they have taken unauthorized
leaves and travelled within and outside the jurisdiction, without her approval.
Mahama Vehicle
According to the EC
Boss, she never used a vehicle with registration number WR 2291-15 as claimed
by the petitioners, as coming from the presidency, but admitted she received a
vehicle from the executive arm of government.
“Following her
appointment as Chairperson, the Office of the Chief of Staff allocated Mrs.
Osei a vehicle. This is certainly not a new practice in Ghana’s public service.
Indeed, the office of the Chief of Staff provided and continues to provide
vehicles for many government institutions and appointees.”
External Solicitors
On the issue of
external solicitors, the Chairperson said that “Sory@ Law was retained on the
basis of a decision of the Commission taken at a Commission meeting of
September 2015.
If it is true that the Chairperson unilaterally retained
Sory@Law, members of the Commission, including the two Deputy Chairpersons,
would clearly have to explain the basis for meetings held between the entire
Commission and Lawyer T. Sory, and other meetings between management and
executive management staff, and staff of Sory@Law to discuss pending cases.”
Contract Bypass
She accused the
Deputy Chairperson F/A of signing
contracts worth over GH¢40 million without the knowledge and authorization of
the Chairperson between July and September 2015.
“It is worth pointing out that while the Chairperson is
persistently accused of arrogance and taking unilateral decisions, there is
ample evidence of extreme arrogance, ineptitude and blatant breaches of the law
by the Deputy Chairpersons. The Deputy Chairperson F/A has signed
contracts worth over GH¢40 million without knowledge and authorization of the
Chairperson between July and September 2015,” she said.
“Payments
were also made on these contracts in excess of her approval limits and again,
without the knowledge and authorization of the Chairperson,” the EC boss
claimed, adding, “This is illegal, criminal and a breach of the policies of the
Commission and the laws of Ghana.”
She indicated that the “supporting documents would be submitted to
the relevant investigative agencies for their further action.”
New Office
According to Mrs
Osei, it could not be true that she accepted a new office complex without
recourse to the Commission, but did not dispute the GH¢3.9 million to demarcate the offices.
She said members of
the Commission “have constantly complained to the Chairperson about leaking and
damaged roofs, poor electrical wiring, damp walls and lack of storage
facilities to store elections equipment, resulting in significant losses and
inefficient use of resources at the Commission. It is untrue that the 7 members
of the Commission do not see anything wrong with the current offices.”
She pointed out, “the
Chairperson informed the Commission in late 2015 that the Commission had
requested new office premises from the Presidency to house the new secretariat
of the Association of African Election Authorities (AAEA) after Ghana had been
voted as a permanent secretariat of the AAEA in July 2015 with responsibility
to provide office space for the AAEA. In February 2016, at a Commission meeting,
members were informed that government had allocated a new office building to
the Commission through the office of the Chief of Staff.”
She also said, “Members
were further informed that the new office was a new building and would only
require partitioning and all commissioners were encouraged to visit the new
premises. The Chairperson subsequently visited the new site with the two Deputy
Chairpersons and a commission member, all of who were very excited by the new
office.”
Political Transfers
She said the
transfer of District Electoral Officers could not be said to have been done
because the affected persons were perceived to be NPP faithful, saying they
were done because “of threats made by political actors on their activities
which were likely to compromise the neutrality of the Commission and the
integrity of the elections.
“It is within the
powers of the Chairperson to transfer district electoral officers either for
purposes of protecting the lives of staff or as the exigencies of the
Commission’s work requires.”
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