Linda Ofori-Kwafo
THE GHANA Integrity Initiative (GII), a civil society organization, has charged government to quickly initiate in-depth investigation into the allegations surfacing at the Electoral Commission (EC).
There is an ongoing dispute between the EC Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, and her two deputies.
According to the non-partisan organization which addresses issues of corruption, the intervention and investigation will protect the integrity of the commission, which has been dented by the top three members of the electioral body.
Recently, the chairperson, in a response to a petition by some concerned staff of the commission demanding her removal, accused her two deputies of corruption and insubordination.
Interestingly, Georgina Opoku-Amankwaa, a Deputy Commissioner, head of Corporate Service, who supposedly responded to the claims by her boss, justified some decisions taken without recourse to due process among other serious allegations.
Before the matter could settle, Alhaji Amadu Sulley, Deputy Commissioner in-charge of Operations, also joined the allegations fray and threatened legal action against his boss.
It is in this vein that on Tuesday, the GII in a statement signed by the Executive Director, Linda Ofori-Kwafo, said the anti-corruption organization was concerned about the current happenings at the commission, which is a very important state institution that contributes significantly to the peace, security and democracy in the country.
“It appears the current impasse affects the very core of this non-negotiable quality and GII wishes to call on the government, through the relevant state agencies, to take swift action to ensure that appropriate and thorough investigations are conducted into these matters. This is the only way to halt any further degeneration of the integrity of the commission and restore public confidence in the organization,” Madam Ofori-Kwafo noted.
The GII believed that regarding all other allegations made, government should intervene and commence serious probe into the matters, bothering on abuse of office and corruption without excluding four important aspects made, such as “the involvement of two deputy chairpersons of the commission in procurement irregularities in May 2015, involving $22.3 and $16.4m for the purchase of BVDs, the deputy chairperson signing contracts worth over GH¢40m without requisite approval and authorization.”
The GII mentioned “the deputy chairperson’s collection of GH¢6m from political parties for the conduct of party primaries without recourse to the structures of the commission.”
“The illegal vote transfers on the voter management system by the deputy chairperson in-charge of operations, is another issue the GII wants government to take a look at critically,” the anti-corruption group stated.
Commending EOCO for commencing investigation into the independent body, GII has also called on politicians to desist from the politicization of the matters and allow due process to be followed in order not to undermine the importance of the commission in Ghana’s democratic process.
From Vincent Kubi, Tema