News:
July 25, 2017
Chairperson of the Electoral Commission Mrs. Charlotte Osei and her deputies’ ruckus cannot be attributed to the New Patriotic Party (NPP). “I saw the signs written on the walls last year March, I offered some advice but was not taken”, Majority leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said in an interview with ghanamps.com.
He further added that, last year at a special budget committee hearing for the commission, he asked a simple questions when the two Deputies of the EC came to meet the special budget committee.
Before we begin “maywe know the where about of chairperson is she coming, we understand she has traveled I was taken aback. I repeated the question and got same response from the two Deputies”, he said.
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs further inquired “can you have a situation where the Commissioner will travel outside the jurisdiction without informing the deputies this goes to confirm the bad blood”.
What we are witnessing is their own internal bleeding, “it should not be and I did advice but it was not taken”, he remarked.
The Suame lawmaker further reveal that there are non- election related matters that have to be attended to; refurbishment of biometric and verification equipment.
“You recall before the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections some of the equipment had to be cannibalized to be repaired, there was no time to do testing of the new once which were refurbished. We have a whole lot of those equipment that may not be working”.
Again the IT section of the commission is out of joint, the equipment that was procured was supposed to last for a period. “Usually the IT department requires replacement every five years, it’s been close to ten years now and nothing has happened”, he lamented.
According to the Majority leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, there are some proposed referendums. For the internal “squabbles are not allowing them to attend to these matters. “As we speak certain contractors had not been paid because claims have not been submitted on their behalf”, he said.
He further remarked that, “if we can get the relevant personalities involved, I believe we can resolve this situation.
By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com