EC boss blames 2 deputies for ‘confusion’
The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs Charlotte Osei, has levelled damning allegations against her two deputies.
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She has accused the Deputy Chairperson in charge of Operations, Mr Amadu Sulley, of collecting GH¢6 million from some political parties for the organisation of party primaries, without recourse to the structures of the EC.
Another allegation was levelled against the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Corporate Services, Mrs Georgina Opoku-Amankwah, who has been accused of entering into and executing a GH¢40-million contract.
Making the claims in her response to a petition calling for her impeachment, Mrs Osei said: “The Deputy Chairperson in charge of Corporate Services has signed contracts worth over GH¢40m without the knowledge and authorisation of the chairperson between July and September 2015.
“Payments were also made on these contracts in excess of her approval limits and again, without the knowledge and authorisation of the chairperson.
“This is illegal, criminal and a breach of the policies of the commission and the laws of Ghana. The supporting documents will be submitted to the relevant investigative agencies for their further action,” she noted.
Mr Sulley
Mrs Osei further noted that Mr Sulley allegedly collected funds above GH6¢million from some political parties for the organisation of party primaries, without recourse to the structures of the commission and without the involvement of the Finance Department.
“Political party primaries were treated as a private commercial project by the Deputy Chairperson in charge of operations , with funds paid directly into the personal accounts of key staff for functions to be performed for party primaries.
“An internal audit report highlighting widespread malfeasance in the conduct of party primaries under the supervision of the Deputy Chairperson, Operations is attached and marked ‘CO28A’. This situation cannot be allowed to continue,” she noted.
Arrogance
She said while she was persistently accused of arrogance and taking unilateral decisions, there was ample evidence of extreme arrogance, ineptitude and blatant breaches of the law by the deputy chairpersons.
For instance, she noted, in June 2017, the annual leave of the Deputy Chairperson in charge of Operations was approved by Mrs Opoku-Amankwah without recourse to the chairperson and signed on behalf of the chairperson by Mrs Opoku-Amankwah while she herself was on leave.
“This is clearly symptomatic of poor knowledge of corporate governance and managerial ineptitude.
“Indeed, the Deputy Chairperson in charge of Corporate Services has arrogated to herself the powers of the chairperson, convening commission meetings and taking other ultra vires decisions in clear breach of the law,” she added.
Mrs Osei noted that while Ms Opoku-Amankwah was on leave in June 2017, she, without authorisation and notice to the chairperson, approved the 2015 financial statements of the commission, which showed an increase in the amount for fuel coupons (beyond budgeted levels).
“Clearly, there is ample evidence of poor knowledge of corporate governance, rules of public service financial management and general incompetence,” she stated.
The EC Chair said the poor financial management systems within the commission were systemic, adding that “in some cases, commission funds are paid into personal accounts of staff members at the regional offices”.
“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 added.
She also accused Mr Sulley of persistently instructing officials to carry out illegal vote transfers on the Voter Management System, in clear breach of the law and operational policies of the commission.
V8 Landcruiser
Touching on the allegation that she compromised her position as EC Chair by accepting a 2015V8 Landcruiser from the Presidency, Mrs Osei said she did not use a vehicle with the said registration number WR2291-15 as provided by the so-called petitioners
She said following her appointment as Chairperson, the Office of the Chief of Staff allocated her a vehicle, noting that “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. The chairperson could, therefore, not have compromised her independence or neutrality as she neither requested nor lobbied for the said vehicle. Indeed, this flawed argument would imply that the commission receiving money from the government of Ghana compromises the neutrality of the commission”.
STL contract
The petitioners accused Mrs Osei of single-handedly renegotiating the contract with Superlock Tech Limited (STL) to the tune of GH¢21.9 million without the involvement of the members of the commission, the deputies and also failed to go through tender, but Mrs Osei said the two deputy chairpersons signed two contracts with STL on May 6, 2015 for $22.3m (BVR) and $16.4m (BVD).
She said letters were written to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) on May 15, 2015 seeking permission for sole sourcing after the contracts had been signed.
According to Mrs Osei, the contracts contained no price breakdown and were signed against the 2016 budget of the commission, which was unknown at the time.
“The Finance and procurement departments of the commission had no knowledge of the execution of the contracts . The chairperson informed the deputy chairpersons of the many breaches of the law in connection with these contracts. The Deputy Chair Operations confirmed the illegalities in an email and also confessed his lack of knowledge of the procurement processes ,” she said, adding that she abrogated the contract in August 2015 and requested the Finance Department to renegotiate the contract.
The renegotiation, Mrs Osei noted, reduced the contract price to $7.2 million after Mrs Osei engaged the services of a consultant to advise on the project.
“Interestingly, STL has not complained about the abrogation of the contracts. It is amazing that persons, who schemed to cause the loss to the state, flout procurement laws with impunity, can then accuse another of acting illegally.
Political posturing
Responding to allegations that her “political posturing” would have plunged Ghana into the precipice but for the action of the technical and competent staff of the commission, Mrs Osei noted that the petitioners would have to define clearly the “political posture” which nearly pushed the country into civil war.
“It is a witnessed fact that during the elections, the chairperson was in touch directly with the two main candidates in the presidential election in her capacity as Returning Officer. The then candidates are in a position to confirm this. The chairperson remained in continuous contact with the hierarchy of the Ghana Police Service and the military until the final declaration of the results to ensure a peaceful conclusion to the elections.
“It is well documented by several observer bodies that the December 2016 elections were safe, free and fair and the chairperson is directly acknowledged as having been instrumental in ensuring this. As testament to her work, she has received local and international commendation and recognition,” Mrs Osei said.
Court of public opinion
Touching on the allegations levelled against her, Mrs Osei said their falsity was clear from “the manner in which these allegations have been laid – in the court of public opinion – based on no facts and only malicious intent of persons protecting corrupt and unscrupulous acts. These acts enrich solely the practitioners of these acts, and there is no intent to either abide by the laws of the land or truly be of service to the people of Ghana”.
“There is, clearly, no established case of fraud or abuse of office made against the chairperson. The public purse should be and must be protected, even at the EC.
“The independence granted the commission under the Constitution does not mean immunity to flout all the financial laws of Ghana, waste public funds and unlawfully enrich corrupt public officials.
“The role of the EC is to enable the citizens to participate in free and fair elections — it has and will always remain the guiding principle of the chairperson. It is only those who are eager to subvert the law and engage in illegal actions who will not support this mandate in its implementation and vision of creating a world-class Electoral Commission,” Mrs Osei added.