By William
Yaw Owusu
Wednesday
July 11, 2018
Three top officers of the Electoral Commission (EC) who
were suspended by the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) on the
instructions of sacked EC Boss, Charlotte Osei have been asked to return to work.
In July 2017, Georgina Opoku Amankwah, a deputy
Commissioner in charge of Corporate Services together with two senior EC
officials: Kwaku Owusu Agyei-Larbi, Chief Accountant and Dr Joseph K. Asamoah,
Finance Director were asked to proceed on leave over a missing GH¢480,000 in
the Staff Endowment Fund for the commission’s workers.
Unfortunately for Georgina Opoku Amankwah, she is
not returning to the commission because President Akufo-Addo, acting on the
recommendations of the Committee set up by the Chief Justice to investigate
complaints against three EC bosses comprising the Chairperson, Charlotte Osei,
Alhaji Amadu Sulley, in-charge of Operations and Mrs Georgina Opoku-Amankwah,
which found them guilty of ‘stated misbehaviour’ and ‘incompetence,’ had
removed them from office.
Reinstatement
Letter
A letter from EOCO signed by its Acting Executive
Director, ACP K.K. Amoah (Rtd) to the EC Director of Human Resource said “you
may recall that on 5/07/2017, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission on
the advice of this office directed three officers listed below to proceed on
leave as a result of an investigation into the missing money for the Endowment
Fund.”
“They were Ms. Georgina Opoku Amakwah, Deputy
Chairperson, F/A; Kwaku Owusu Agyei-Larbi, Chief Accountant and Joseph Kwaku
Asamoah, Director of Finance.”
The EOCO letter said “on June 14, 2018, the
Governing Board of EOCO directed that the commission be notified to allow the
officers to resume work from the leave as the investigation is completed,” adding
“you are therefore being directed to instruct the officers to resume work.”
Later on July 9, the EOCO wrote another letter to
the HR Department of EC asking the commission to instruct Mr. Agyei-Larbi and Dr.
Asamoah, to be reinstated and said the instant letter superseded the previous
one.
Long
Battle
Until Mrs. Opoku Amankwah’s removal from office, her
lawyers, Asante-Krobea Sekyere and
Associates, were having a tug of war with EOCO over the delay in
reinstating her.
She
even threatened to take legal action against EOCO if the investigative body
failed to respond to her queries about the status of their investigations.
The
Finance Director also threatened court action through his lawyer, Akoto Ampaw, if
he was not reinstated because he complained that he was being victimized by the
commission for no reason.
Case
Background
In the heat of the argument in July last year,
EOCO issued a letter saying it had taken over the
case explaining that “the suspects are assisting investigations.”
EOCO in the letter dated July 4, 2017, addressed to
the Chairperson of the commission had said it was investigating “the loss of
about GH¢480,000 from the Endowment Fund at the Electoral Commission.”
“The office would be grateful if you would direct
the officers listed above to proceed on leave whilst investigation proceeds,”
the EOCO letter directed at Charlotte Osei said.
Pursuant to the EOCO letter, then EC boss, Charlotte
Osei had written to Mrs. Opoku Amankwah and the two others asking them to
proceed on leave ‘immediately ‘and directed Mrs. Opoku Amankwah to “kindly
forward any pending issues to the office of the Chairperson.”
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