Chief Justice Archives - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always https://citifmonline.com/tag/chief-justice/ Ghana News | Ghana Politics | Ghana Soccer | Ghana Showbiz Wed, 28 Feb 2018 14:15:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.0.8 https://citifmonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-CITI-973-FM-32x32.jpg Chief Justice Archives - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always https://citifmonline.com/tag/chief-justice/ 32 32 AG’s Dep’t in dire need of resources – Gloria Akuffo https://citifmonline.com/2018/02/ags-dept-in-dire-need-of-resources-gloria-akuffo/ Wed, 28 Feb 2018 14:12:24 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=405256 Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Gloria Akuffo has indicated that her outfit is in dire need of funds to address challenges facing regional offices under her jurisdiction. [contextly_sidebar id=”wL89Qa6sARzosJwFKUXDLw8w2UryKyTm”]According to Attorney General, these challenges include staffing and accommodation, among other things. Touring the department’s Eastern Regional Office, Ms Akuffo told Citi News her outfit is […]

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]]> Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Gloria Akuffo has indicated that her outfit is in dire need of funds to address challenges facing regional offices under her jurisdiction.

[contextly_sidebar id=”wL89Qa6sARzosJwFKUXDLw8w2UryKyTm”]According to Attorney General, these challenges include staffing and accommodation, among other things.

Touring the department’s Eastern Regional Office, Ms Akuffo told Citi News her outfit is collating a report that will seek to provide remedies for these challenges across the regional offices.

“We have challenges with staffing, office space, residential accommodation, office equipment and reports and even administrative staff is a challenge but there may be slight differences in terms of priorities. What may be a real challenge in Wa, may not be a challenge at Ho so I have asked them to put together their needs in the form of a report and I am going to be collating a national report on the office of the Attorney General and its departments and agencies with the view of prioritizing them and looking for funds to begin to solve some of these problems,” she said.

The Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo during her vetting in June 2017
Issues with funding don’t seem to be limited to the AG’s office as Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo complained that the Judiciary is being made to feed off scraps

‘Stop giving us scraps’

Her concerns come just weeks after the Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo expressed her anger at successive governments for not placing priority on the judiciary in terms of funding.

Sophia Akuffo had said the adjudicatory arm of government is usually relegated to the background with considerations for funding usually being treated as an afterthought.

The Chief Justice called for adequate funding for the judiciary, given the critical role it plays in society.

Her Ladyship Sophia Akuffo made these comments at the 2018 GIMPA Law Conference held in Accra a few weeks ago.

“It is important that the financing of the judiciary should be given serious consideration. We cannot continue to be some pathetic backroom part of governance where after everything has been served out and enjoyed then we get the scraps. That cannot happen!” the Chief Justice fumed.

–

By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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]]> CJ’s ‘altering’ of Oquaye’s swearing in oath ‘illegal’ – Ras Mubarak [Video] https://citifmonline.com/2018/01/cjs-altering-of-oquayes-swearing-in-oath-illegal-ras-mubarak/ https://citifmonline.com/2018/01/cjs-altering-of-oquayes-swearing-in-oath-illegal-ras-mubarak/#comments Sun, 21 Jan 2018 19:41:23 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=393736 National Democratic Congress [NDC], Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak, has accused the Chief Justice of altering some of the words in the oath administered to the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Michael Oquaye, who was sworn into office on Sunday as the acting President, in the absence of the President and his Vice. According […]

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]]> National Democratic Congress [NDC], Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak, has accused the Chief Justice of altering some of the words in the oath administered to the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Michael Oquaye, who was sworn into office on Sunday as the acting President, in the absence of the President and his Vice.

According to him, the framers of the constitution should have made provisions for the oath to be recited by the acting President when the need arises.


[contextly_sidebar id=”ihXhF25OcKqn9bXaWi4DCC9uW0CkocQa”]“They should have made provision in the case of someone who is acting, because what the Chief Justice sort to do was to alter the oath to fit the exigencies of the situations, I mean he has not been elected,  the oath says that whoever is being sworn in will say, ‘having be elected to the high office of President’, we have a situation where the Speaker, who is going be acting was not elected to the high office of president, so in this case that has that has to be altered,” he said.

He also questioned the constitutionality of the swearing at Parliament, and wondered if the Chief Justice has the power to alter the constitution in the sense to meet the demand of the situation at hand.

“Now, here is the case she has read something that cannot be found in the constitution, in such a situation what is the interpretation, does she have the legal backing, does she have the constitutional mandate, to alter elements of the constitution?” he asked.

He also said the absence of the President does not incapacitate him from going about his function as the President of the country.

“We live the 21st century and I think the President can issue an instruction to any of his ministers to the Chief of Staff, from wherever he is, and the fact that he is not physically present in the country will not invalidate the things that he may have given instructions for,” he said.

He concluded that the alteration of oath is something they, the Minority, wants the general public to think about and in due time, their line of action with regards to that, will be made known.

Speaker needs only Oath of Secrecy to act as President – Majority Leader

Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, has suggested that future Speakers of Parliament who may have to act as President be allowed to take only the Oath of Secrecy.

At the moment, Speakers of Parliament who serve as acting President in the absence of both the President and the Vice, are to take only the Oath of Office.

But speaking on the floor of Parliament on Sunday after Professor Michael Oquaye was sworn in as acting President, Mr. Mensah-Bonsu said the country could take a second look at the arrangement.

He argued further that the Speaker of Parliament is already administered the Oath of Allegiance when sworn in as Speaker of Parliament.

“The Speaker did not take Oath of Secrecy. For the Oath of Allegiance, the Speaker has already taken it, so I would want to plead that going forward, whenever he has to be sworn in, he does not need to take the Oath of Allegiance because he has already done so as a Speaker. What he didn’t do was the Oath of Secrecy that is done by the President.”

“So I would think that, going forward, when the Speaker has to be sworn in as a President, the Oath of Secrecy would have to be admitted. It has never been done, but I guess we can improve our own procedures,” the Majority Leader stated.

Controversy over swearing-in

The law concerning the swearing-in was breached by a former Speaker of Parliament, Doe Adjaho in 2014, when he refused to take the oath of office as acting President at a point.

Both President Mahama and his Vice Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, had traveled outside the country at the time.

This compelled the Managing Director of Citi FM, Samuel Atta-Mensah, and a United States-based Ghanaian lawyer, Prof. Kwaku Asare, to file a suit at the Supreme Court, to among other things, seek an interpretation of Article 60 (12) of the 1992 Constitution, which requires that the Speaker takes the oath of office each time he is to act as President.

The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, declared that the Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Edward Doe Adjaho, violated Article 60 (11)-(12) of the 1992 Constitution when he declined to be sworn in to act as President.

The nine-member panel, presided over by Justice Sophia Akuffo, also averred that the “Speaker of Parliament shall always, before assuming the functions of the Office of President when the President and the Vice-President are unable to perform their functions, take and subscribe to the oath set out in relation to the Office of President”.

Some have however insisted that the law is obsolete, considering that a President on an international assignment remains a President, and so he or she doesn’t need anyone to act in his absence.

–

By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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]]> https://citifmonline.com/2018/01/cjs-altering-of-oquayes-swearing-in-oath-illegal-ras-mubarak/feed/ 1 Gabby kicks against TV license courts, backs payment https://citifmonline.com/2018/01/gabby-kicks-against-tv-license-courts-backs-payment/ Wed, 03 Jan 2018 13:53:33 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=388284 Member of the governing New Patriotic Party [NPP], and former Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has kicked against attempts to resort to the use of special courts in getting people to pay the mandatory TV license fees. He said although the collection of TV license fees is in itself laudable, efforts […]

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]]> Member of the governing New Patriotic Party [NPP], and former Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has kicked against attempts to resort to the use of special courts in getting people to pay the mandatory TV license fees.

He said although the collection of TV license fees is in itself laudable, efforts must be focused on how to efficiently collect the fees rather than prosecution.

[contextly_sidebar id=”aOsGqcQ0DTmG3C79gLctMdEizSdeieNY”]The Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, last December, set up a special TV License Court to deal with people who refuse to pay the mandatory license fees.

The eleven courts, which are located in the 10 regions of the country, are expected to fine and or jail persons who fail to pay the fees.

But Mr. Otchere-Darko  in a Facebook post said, “GTV [must] concentrate more on building the infrastructure that can help them to collect [the fees].

“We should not be averse to paying TV license. I think it is an important good and can help GTV serve us and their staff much better. What I disagree with though is having a special court to enforce payment or punish defaulters. Let GTV concentrate more on building the infrastructure that can help them to collect. Ask yourselves, when was the last time you received a demand notice at home or in the office over nonpayment of TV license?,” he said.

Background

GBC officially reintroduced the collection of the TV Licence fees in 2015 after years of putting it on hold due to non-payments.

While domestic TV users are to pay between GH¢36 and GH¢60 for one or more TV sets in the same house every year, TV set repairers and sales outlets are to pay an annual sum of between GHc60 to GHc240.

For commercial TV operators, they are to pay GHc36 per annum for each TV set.

GBC had in the last two years since the re-introduction, appealed to Ghanaians to voluntarily make their payments.

Implications of Special TV license court

Following the setting up of the special court, it is expected that recalcitrant TV owners or operators who previously were adamant about not paying the fee will be prosecuted.

According to  Section 1(a) of the TV licensing Act 1966 (NLCD 89) as amended, “Any person who contravenes any provision of this law or regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year.”

Opposition to payments

Meanwhile, some Ghanaians have kicked against the payments accusing GBC of not providing compelling content to motivate them to pay the fees.

Police to help enforce TV license payment – GBC

The  GBC Director-General had earlier said the Police Service will help in the pursuit of persons who refuse to pay their TV licence fees.

Dr. Annof-Ntow said the police involvement is to help forestall further challenges with the collection of the fees.

“We made a formal appeal not only to the court, but also to the IGP because we anticipated that we were going to hit a snag and some people will deliberately refuse to pay. So from where we sit, I’m delighted at the fact that the Chief Justice has granted our request. What it means therefore is that, this is an encouragement for everybody to go and pay the television licence.”

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/ghana

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]]> Avoid contempt against C’ttee probing EC officials – CJ warns https://citifmonline.com/2017/12/avoid-contempt-against-cttee-probing-ec-officials-cj-warns/ Tue, 19 Dec 2017 16:59:42 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=384614 The Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, has formally constituted a committee to investigate the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei, and her two deputies, over corruption allegations leveled against them, with a caution to the general public to desist from making demeaning comments about their work. Already, some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress […]

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]]> The Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, has formally constituted a committee to investigate the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei, and her two deputies, over corruption allegations leveled against them, with a caution to the general public to desist from making demeaning comments about their work.

Already, some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), have started criticizing the process, accusing the government of seeking to hound the EC Boss, Charlotte Osei.

The three officials met the Chief Justice a week ago, where they were notified that a prima facie case had been established against them.

“The general public is hereby informed that, Her Ladyship the Chief Justice, Justice Sophia A.B. Akuffo, in accordance with Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, has set up a five-member committee to investigate allegations brought against the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs. Charlotte Osei, and her two deputies, Mr. Amadu Sulley and Mrs. Georgina Opopu-Amankwa.”

In a statement signed by the Judicial Secretary, Justice Alex B. Poku-Acheampong, the Chief Justice said anyone who makes comments that undermine the work of the Committee, will be cited for contempt.

[contextly_sidebar id=”zeSXB6dNDTk7bFN2aRTENavynwyhO0Qq”]In a release copied to citifmonline.com, the Judicial Secretary,  said the sittings of the Committee will be closed to the public.

The release, which failed to indicate the names of the Committee members, as well as state exactly when the Committee will start its work, said it will be chaired by a Justice of the Supreme Court.

“The Committee, which will sit in camera, in line with normal practice, consists of three (3) Justices of the Superior Court appointed by the Judicial Council, and two (2) other persons appointed by the Chief Justice, on the advise of the Council of State. The Committee is chaired by a Justice of the Supreme Court.”

“It is the expectation of the Chief Justice and the Judicial Council that the public will treat the Committee with the respect and dignity it deserves, as it carries out its constitutional duty and refrain from making comments that will undermine the work of the Committee, since infractions may amount to contempt.”

The Petitions

Some staff of the EC petitioned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in July 2017, to remove Mrs. Osei from office over allegations of fraud and financial malfeasance as well as abuse of office.

Some of the allegations involved the unilateral award of contracts by the EC boss in the run-up to the 2016 general election.

The unnamed EC staff are being represented by Lawyer Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang, against Mrs. Osei.

The petition against her, alleged among others the funneling of GH¢3.9 million to partition an office, the receipt of a Toyota Land Cruiser from the Mahama government, and the use of about $14 million when the Public Procurement Authority had authorized her to use only $7.5 million.

Charlotte Osei takes on Deputies

Mrs. Osei also responded by making allegations of corruption against her deputies, claiming that she was only being hounded because she sought to introduce systems to curb misuse and mismanagement of resources.

Charlotte Osei among other claims, accused deputy Chairperson of the Commission of illegally signing contracts worth over GHC 40 million without her approval.

Fresh impeachment against EC Chair

Subsequently, another individual by name Douglas Seidu, a concerned Ghanaian, also petitioned the President in August 2017, seeking the removal of the EC Chair, on grounds of “financial misconduct, incompetence, conflict of interest, breaches of the public procurement processes, amongst others.

It is an eight-paged petition” according to the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, who spoke to Citi News in August.

President Akufo-Addo in accordance with the constitution forwarded both petitions to the Chief Justice to look into the matter.

Suggestions are that both petitions have been consolidated to make the Committee’s work easier.

Charlotte Osei could remain in office during corruption probe – Lawyer

Meanwhile, a private legal practitioner, Yaw Oppong, has suggested that Charlotte Osei could remain in her position while the process takes place.

The Chief Justice and the Judicial Council, may now recommend to the President of the Republic, the suspension of the EC Chair from her position, to enable her undergo the hearing.

However, according to Yaw Oppong, unless it is established that her continued stay in office would compromise the investigations, Charlotte Osei could be allowed to remain in her position while she and her deputies are probed.

“In my view, unless it can be seen that the person who is the subject of such an investigation is capable of interfering with the investigation process in terms of suspected cases of concealment of documentary or other forms of information, otherwise I think those persons can still occupy their position,” he said on Eyewitness News.

Yaw Oppong added that, even if the President accepts the recommendation of the Judicial Council and suspends the EC Chair, he could, at any time, reinstate her should he feel the need to do so.

“If the President is of the view that any useful purpose will be served by the person who is the subject of this investigation stepping aside or being suspended in the meantime [he can do so]. But at the same time, Clause 11 says that the President may at any time revoke the suspension under this Article. Perhaps it may be used, but if any purpose may be served by the person being brought back to the position, the President has the power to do so,” he explained.

Yaw Oppong

President not bound by recommendations

Yaw Oppong also suggested that, the President may not be compelled to implement the recommendations of the Judicial Council should they call for the suspension of Charlotte Osei.

Citing a similar case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the President was not bound by the advice of the Council of State, Yaw Oppong stated that, it was however vital that the President is seen to have sought the advice of the Judicial Council on the issue, as stated by the Constitution.

“It doesn’t appear that the President may be bound by the advice [of the Judicial Council]. What it really means is that, there should be evidence that the President at least sought the advise of the Judicial Council. And I think that any prudent President, and so far we’ve had prudent presidents, will act on the advise of the Judicial Council,” he said.

“Unless that president may want to also violate the Constitution, which, so far our President has done well not to. He’s complied essentially with the provisions that have come up for compliance.”

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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]]> It’s no crime to be called honourable – MP replies CJ https://citifmonline.com/2017/12/its-no-crime-to-be-called-honourable-mp-replies-cj/ Sat, 16 Dec 2017 08:10:00 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=383761 National Democratic Congress [NDC] Member of Parliament for Juaboso Constituency in the Western Region, Kwabena Mintah AkandoH, is unhappy with the Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo’s handling of a case he filed against the Gender Minister, Otiko Djaba. Mr. Mintah Akandoh and the NDC Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, Ernest Norgbey, went to court in February […]

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]]> National Democratic Congress [NDC] Member of Parliament for Juaboso Constituency in the Western Region, Kwabena Mintah AkandoH, is unhappy with the Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo’s handling of a case he filed against the Gender Minister, Otiko Djaba.

Mr. Mintah Akandoh and the NDC Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, Ernest Norgbey, went to court in February 2017, challenging the legality of Madam Otiko Djaba’s appointment as Minister for Gender, Women and Children’s Affairs, due to her failure to undertake the mandatory National Service.

[contextly_sidebar id=”JZ8DhepgVTA4v2GjWqigwBaKBAygLc3i”]They prayed the court to declare the appointment and swearing-in of Madam Djaba as Minister null and void, due to what they described as the breaching of certain aspects of the constitution pertaining to the National Service Act.

However, a seven member panel of justices presided over by the Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, dismissed the case on Tuesday.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Akandoh recalled that the Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo was displeased after she noticed the title ‘honourable’ preceded the names of the MPs in the writ.

The MP said the CJ had subsequently indicated that the use of ‘honourable’ in the court is “dishonourable.”

Mr. Akandoh thus believes this might have influenced the panel’s decision to dismiss the case.

Ghana’s Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo.

He nonetheless disagreed with Madam Akuffo’s comments, saying their suit was not aimed at seeking interpretation of titles.

“When we got to court, the Chief Justice indicated that she was not happy about the title honourable and she used words like ‘so called honourable’ and ‘dishonourable’. She was emotionally charged. I thought that she could do that without emotions. I do not see my crime. In any case, I did not issue that writ, it is my lawyer, who is an officer of the court, and even the clerk of the Supreme Court did same.”

“Excuse me to say that, we did not go to court for the interpretation of titles. Not honourable, not her ladyship, not my lord, neither did we go to court for the interpretation of the title her Excellency. But you see, I am not saying the Chief Justice cannot express her opinion on other issues in this country, but I feel that the way and manner in which she handled us in court was not right..”

He said the Chief Justice even contradicted herself in court when she reprimanded them for preceding their names with the title “honourable” but queried them for not adding that same title to Madam Otiko Afisa Djaba’s name in their writ.

“In one breath, the Chief Justice says it not right for our names to be prefixed with the title honourable, and so she had issues with it. In another breath, the Chief Justice enquired why we did not prefix Otiko Djaba’s name with honourable..My problem is whether it is about the title ‘honourable’ or because someone was not addressed as such.”

Mr. Akandoh said he intends to put in writing what he describes as a “protest letter” to the Chief Justice, expressing his displeasure with developments in the court.

I’ll go back to court 

He also indicated that he will go back to the court for the interpretation on the National Service Act, despite the court’s judgement.

–

By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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]]> Charlotte Osei could remain in office during corruption probe – Lawyer https://citifmonline.com/2017/12/charlotte-osei-remain-office-corruption-probe-lawyer/ Tue, 12 Dec 2017 07:25:41 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=382503 A private legal practitioner,  Yaw Oppong, has suggested that the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei, could remain in her position while a probe is conducted into alleged acts of malfeasance by her and two deputies at the Commission. His comments come after a prima facie case was established against Mrs. Osei, following allegations of […]

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]]> A private legal practitioner,  Yaw Oppong, has suggested that the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei, could remain in her position while a probe is conducted into alleged acts of malfeasance by her and two deputies at the Commission.

His comments come after a prima facie case was established against Mrs. Osei, following allegations of corruption and abuse of office leveled against her in two separate petitions.

[contextly_sidebar id=”FRYShpHQvU9BoM0AVkHlspoeTWBz804b”]Her two deputies, Amadu Sulley (in charge of Operations), and Georgina Amankwa (in charge of Corporate Services), will also face a probe after all three top EC officials appeared individually before the Chief Justice in the company of their lawyers, at the office of the Judicial Service located at the Supreme Court on Monday.

The Chief Justice and the Judicial Council, may now recommend to the President of the Republic, the suspension of the EC Chair from her position, to enable her undergo the hearing.

However, according to Yaw Oppong, unless it is established  that her continued stay in office would compromise the investigations, Charlotte Osei could be allowed to remain in her position while she and her deputies are probed.

“In my view,  unless it can be seen that the person who is the subject of such an investigation is capable of interfering with the investigation process in terms of suspected cases of concealment of documentary or other forms of information, otherwise I think those persons can still occupy their position,” he said on Eyewitness News. 

Yaw Oppong added that, even if the President accepts the recommendation of the Judicial Council and suspends the EC Chair, he could, at any time, reinstate her should he feel the need to do so.

“If the President is of the view that any useful purpose will be served by the person who is the subject of this investigation stepping aside or being suspended in the meantime [he can do so]. But at the same time,  Clause 11 says that the President may at any time revoke the suspension under this Article. Perhaps it may be used, but if any purpose may be served by the person being brought back to the position, the President has the power to do so,” he explained.

Yaw Oppong

President not bound by recommendations 

Yaw Oppong also suggested that, the President may not be compelled to implement the recommendations of the Judicial Council should they call for the suspension of Charlotte Osei.

Citing a similar case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the President was not bound by the advice of the Council of State,  Yaw Oppong stated that, it was however vital that the President is seen to have sought the advice of the Judicial Council on the issue, as stated by the Constitution.

“It doesn’t appear that the President may be bound by the advice [of the Judicial Council]. What it really means is that, there should be evidence that the President at least sought the advise of the Judicial Council. And I think that any prudent President, and so far we’ve had prudent presidents, will act on the advise of the Judicial Council,” he said.

“Unless that president may want to also violate the Constitution, which, so far our President has done well not to.  He’s complied essentially with the provisions that have come up for compliance.”

The Petitions

Some staff of the EC petitioned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in July 2017, to remove Mrs. Osei from office over allegations of fraud and financial malfeasance as well as abuse of office.

Some of the allegations involved the unilateral award of contracts by the EC boss in the run-up to the 2016 general election.

The unnamed EC staff are being represented by Lawyer Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang, against Mrs. Osei.

The petition against her, alleged among others the funnelling of GH¢3.9 million to partition an office, the receipt of a Toyota Land Cruiser from the Mahama government, and the use of about $14 million when the Public Procurement Authority had authorized her to use only $7.5 million.

Charlotte Osei takes on Deputies 

Mrs. Osei also responded by making allegations of corruption against her deputies, claiming that she was only being hounded because she sought to introduce systems to curb misuse and mismanagement of resources.

 

Amadu Sulley (R) with his lawyer.

Georgina Opoku Amankwa in the company of her lawyers.

Charlotte Osei among other claims, accused deputy Chairperson of the Commission of illegally signing contracts worth over GHC 40 million without her approval.

Fresh impeachment against EC Chair

Subsequently, another individual by name Douglas Seidu, a concerned Ghanaian, also petitioned the President in August 2017, seeking the removal of the EC Chair, on grounds of “financial misconduct, incompetence, conflict of interest, breaches of the public procurement processes, amongst others. It is an eight-paged petition” according to the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, who spoke to Citi News in August.

President Akufo-Addo in accordance with the constitution forwarded both petitions to the Chief Justice to look into the matter.
Suggestions are that both petitions have been consolidated to make the committee’s work easier.

–

By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Charlotte Osei could remain in office during corruption probe – Lawyer appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

]]> Charlotte Osei, 2 deputies to face C’ttee in ‘corruption’ probe https://citifmonline.com/2017/12/charlotte-osei-2-deputies-to-face-cttee-in-corruption-probe/ Mon, 11 Dec 2017 17:45:26 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=382436 Citi News can confirm that a prima facie case has been established against the Electoral Commission Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, following allegations of corruption and abuse of office levelled against her in two separate petitions. Her two deputies, Amadu Sulley (in charge of Operations), and Georgina Amankwa (in charge of Corporate Services, will also have a […]

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]]> Citi News can confirm that a prima facie case has been established against the Electoral Commission Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, following allegations of corruption and abuse of office levelled against her in two separate petitions.

Her two deputies, Amadu Sulley (in charge of Operations), and Georgina Amankwa (in charge of Corporate Services, will also have a case to answer for their alleged roles in the disappearance of some Ghc480, 000 from the Electoral Commission (EC)’s Endowment Fund, among other allegations.

The three top EC officials today [Monday], appeared individually before the Chief Justice in the company of their lawyers, at the office of the Judicial Service located at the Supreme Court.

Charlotte to answer for only 6 allegations out of 27

In the case of the EC Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, Citi News sources say out of the 27 allegations made against her, only six of them were deemed valid, for which she would have to answer before the committee.

A prima facie case is the establishment of a legally required rebuttable presumption, and a cause of action or defense that is sufficiently established by a party’s evidence to justify a verdict in his or her favour, provided such evidence is not rebutted by the other party.

Appointment of committee members

The latest development means that, the Chief Justice will be preparing to officially inaugurate a five-member committee which will have three superior court judges and two ordinary citizens as members.

The judges will be appointed by the Chief Justice in consultation with the Judicial Council, whereas the two ordinary citizens will also be appointed by the Chief Justice, in consultation with the Council of State.

The Chief Justice and the Judicial Council, may now recommend to the President of the Republic the suspension of the EC Chair from her position, to enable her undergo the hearing, who will either approve it or not.

Already, one of the deputies, Georgina Opoku Amankwa, is serving a suspension over the issues brought against her by the EC Chairperson, Charlotte Osei.

The Petitions

Some staff of the EC petitioned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in July 2017, to remove Mrs. Osei from office over allegations of fraud and financial malfeasance as well as abuse of office.

Some of the allegations involved the unilateral award of contracts by the EC boss in the run-up to the 2016 general election.

The unnamed EC staff are being represented by Lawyer Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang, against Mrs. Osei.

The petition against her, alleged among others the funnelling of GH¢3.9 million to partition an office, the receipt of a Toyota Land Cruiser from the Mahama government, and the use of about $14 million when the Public Procurement Authority had authorized her to use only $7.5 million.

Amadu Sulley ‘illegally’ took GHC 6m from parties – Charlotte Osei

Mrs. Osei also responded by making allegations of corruption against her deputies, claiming that she was only being hounded because she sought to introduce systems to curb misuse and mismanagement of resources.

 

Amadu Sulley (R) with his lawyer.
Georgina Opoku Amankwa in the company of her lawyers.

 

EC Deputy Chair ‘illegally’ signed over GHC40m contract – Charlotte Osei

Charlotte Osei among others, accused deputy Chairperson of the Commission of illegally signing contracts worth over GHC 40 million without her approval.

Fresh impeachment against EC Chair

Subsequently, another individual by name Douglas Seidu, a concerned Ghanaian, also petitioned the President in August 2017, seeking the removal of the EC Chair, on grounds of “financial misconduct, incompetence, conflict of interest, breaches of the public procurement processes, amongst others. It is an eight-paged petition” according to the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, who spoke to Citi News in August.

President Akufo-Addo in accordance with the constitution forwarded both petitions to the Chief Justice to look into the matter.
Suggestions are that both petitions have been consolidated to make the committee’s work easier.

CODEO questions ‘silence’ on EC’s missing Ghc480, 000 endowment fund

The Coalition of Domestic Elections Observers (CODEO) recently expressed reservations about the silence of the agencies investigating the disappearance of money from the Electoral Commission (EC)’s Endowment Fund.

According to the Coalition, it is imperative that the country’s election supervisory body is free from any issues that might raise doubts about the EC’s integrity. Reports are that EOCO has concluded its probe into the matter, after the suspects were asked to proceed on leave.

The officials are the Commission’s Deputy Chairperson in-charge of Finance and Administration, Georgina Opoku Amankwah, Chief Accountant, Kwaku Owusu Agyei-Larbi and Finance Officer, Joseph Kwaku Asamoah.

Money not in officials’ accounts

EOCO revealed in September that, the money which went missing from the EC’s Endowment Fund did not end up in the accounts of the officials being investigated.

They however insisted that it was too early to conclude that the officials are innocent, given the mandate and access they had to the funds during the period.

Speaking to Accra-based Peace FM, the Executive Director of EOCO, K. K. Amoah, at the time, stated that, investigations were far advanced into the matter, and that they would submit their findings to the Attorney General very soon. “We are still on the case. I met with my colleagues and we noticed that, the money did not end up in the accounts of the officials, so right now it is missing,” he said.

“It is too early to conclude anyone is innocent because [Georgina Opoku Amankwah] was in charge of the Endowment Fund and [Asamoah] was the auditor at the time. In a few days, we’ll make our determinations.”

According to him, there have been claims that the money from the Endowment Fund was used for some projects for the EC, but he said no documents have been provided to prove this claim.

“It’s been suggested that the money was used for some work for the EC. If that’s the case, they should bring receipts and documents to prove it. We haven’t got any such documents from them. Without those documents, we’ll continue to pursue them. With time, we will pass the information on to the Attorney General to pursue the matter in court.”
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Charlotte Osei, 2 deputies to face C’ttee in ‘corruption’ probe appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

]]> Charlotte Osei, 2 deputies meet CJ over ‘corruption’ probe https://citifmonline.com/2017/12/charlotte-osei-2-deputies-meet-cj-over-corruption-probe/ Mon, 11 Dec 2017 13:12:27 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=382241 The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei and her two deputies, have arrived at the office of the Judicial Service located at the Supreme Court, as the Chief Justice prepares to hear a petition filed against the EC boss’ office. Unconfirmed reports suggest that a five-member committee has been set up by Chief Justice […]

The post Charlotte Osei, 2 deputies meet CJ over ‘corruption’ probe appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

]]> The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei and her two deputies, have arrived at the office of the Judicial Service located at the Supreme Court, as the Chief Justice prepares to hear a petition filed against the EC boss’ office.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that a five-member committee has been set up by Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, to investigate the alleged acts of corruption involving the Electoral Commission Chair, and her two Deputies, Amadu Sulley (in charge of Operations) and Georgina Amankwa (in charge of Corporate Services.

Some staff of the EC petitioned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in July 2017, to remove Mrs. Osei from office over allegations of fraud and financial malfeasance as well as abuse of office.

Some of the allegations involved the unilateral award of contracts by the EC boss in the run-up to the 2016 general election.

The unnamed EC staff, are being represented by Lawyer Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang, against Mrs. Osei.

The petition against her, alleged among others the funneling of GH¢3.9 million to partition an office, the receipt of a Toyota Land Cruiser from the Mahama government, and the use of about $14 million when the Public Procurement Authority had authorized her to use only $7.5 million.

Amadu Sulley ‘illegally’ took GHC 6m from parties – Charlotte Osei

Mrs. Osei also responded by making allegations of corruption against her deputies, claiming that she was only being hounded because she sought to introduce systems to curb misuse and mismanagement of resources.

Amadu Sulley (R)

EC Deputy Chair ‘illegally’ signed over GHC40m contract – Charlotte Osei

Charlotte Osei among others, accused deputy Chairperson of the Commission of illegally signing contracts worth over GHC 40 million without her approval.

Fresh impeachment against EC Chair

Subsequently, another individual by name Douglas Seidu, a concerned Ghanaian, also petitioned the President in August 2017, seeking the removal of the EC Chair, on grounds of  “financial misconduct, incompetence, conflict of interest, breaches of the public procurement processes, amongst others. It is an eight-paged petition ” according to the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, who spoke to Citi News in August.

President Akufo-Addo in accordance with the constitution forwarded both petitions to the Chief Justice to look into the matter.

Suggestions are that both petitions have been consolidated to make the committee’s work easier.

Deal with Charlotte Osei petitions to save EC’s integrity – Inusah

The Ranking Member on the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament, Inusah Fuseini, recently called on the Chief Justice to hurriedly determine whether a prima facie case has been established against the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) Charlotte Osei, in order to clear any lingering doubts about the integrity of the Commission’s leadership.

According to him, there is a risk of “paralyzing” the EC from carrying out its constitutionally mandated functions if the allegations against the EC Chair and other officials of the Commission are allowed to fester without any timely resolution.

CODEO questions ‘silence’ on missing Ghc480,000 EC endowment fund probe

The Coalition of Domestic Elections Observers (CODEO), also expressed reservations about the silence of the agencies investigating the disappearance of money from the Electoral Commission (EC)’s Endowment Fund.

According to the Coalition, it is imperative that the country’s election supervisory body is free from any issues that might raise doubts about the EC’s integrity. Reports are that EOCO has concluded its probe into the matter, after the suspects were asked to proceed on leave.

The officials are the Commission’s Deputy Chairperson in-charge of Finance and Administration, Georgina Opoku Amankwah, Chief Accountant, Kwaku Owusu Agyei-Larbi and Finance Officer, Joseph Kwaku Asamoah.

Charlotte Osei (L)

Money not in officials’ accounts

EOCO revealed in September that, the money which went missing from the EC’s Endowment Fund did not end up in the accounts of the officials being investigated.

They however insisted that it was too early to conclude that the officials are innocent, given the mandate and access they had to the funds during the period.

Speaking to Accra-based Peace FM, the Executive Director of EOCO, K. K. Amoah, at the time, stated that, investigations were far advanced into the matter, and that they would submit their findings to the Attorney General very soon.

“We are still on the case. I met with my colleagues and we noticed that, the money did not end up in the accounts of the officials, so right now it is missing,” he said.

“It is too early to conclude anyone is innocent because [Georgina Opoku Amankwah] was in charge of the Endowment Fund and [Asamoah] was the auditor at the time. In a few days, we’ll make our determinations.”

According to him, there have been claims that the money from the Endowment Fund was used for some projects for the EC, but he said no documents have been provided to prove this claim.

“It’s been suggested that the money was used for some work for the EC. If that’s the case, they should bring receipts and documents to prove it. We haven’t got any such documents from them. Without those documents, we’ll continue to pursue them. With time, we will pass the information on to the Attorney General to pursue the matter in court.”

 

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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie & Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Charlotte Osei, 2 deputies meet CJ over ‘corruption’ probe appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

]]> CJ proposes use of Common Fund to build, refurbish courts https://citifmonline.com/2017/11/cj-proposes-use-of-common-fund-to-build-refurbish-courts/ Tue, 14 Nov 2017 15:50:00 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=373644 Ghana’s Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo, is proposing the use of portions of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), for the establishment and refurbishment of dilapidated court structures to ensure the delivery of quality justice in the country. Her Lordship, who made the suggestion today, [Tuesday] in the Upper East Region during a three-day working […]

The post CJ proposes use of Common Fund to build, refurbish courts appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

]]> Ghana’s Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo, is proposing the use of portions of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), for the establishment and refurbishment of dilapidated court structures to ensure the delivery of quality justice in the country.

Her Lordship, who made the suggestion today, [Tuesday] in the Upper East Region during a three-day working visit, explained that, the unfavorable conditions of Ghana’s courts and the inconvenience caused by lack of courts in some districts, is hindering the delivery of justice.

[contextly_sidebar id=”NJt9mSy8xxXd8JMAeAuqr2yT2rv0eQq9″]A tour of the six courts in thirteen districts in the Upper East Region, showed that some of them had not seen any renovation works over the past years.

It was against this backdrop, that the Chief Justice, Sophia  Akuffo, underscored the need for part of the district assemblies’ common fund to be used to rehabilitate and build new courts for easy access and quality delivery  of Justice.

Chief Justice Sophia  Akuffo, also hinted that, judges will soon be required to adopt the use of technology in the adjudication and delivery of justice.

“We are going to have a holistic approach to address the dilapidated courts in the country.  So we will try and at least begin a program of serious rehabilitation, renovation, proper maintenance and even sometimes replacement of our courts. We are coming with an arrangement with the administrator of the district assembly common fund so that, they make sure that, part of that fund if not all of it, is spent on building  new courts  in districts without courts and where there are, and in a mess, that those district courts are refurbished.”

“It is my hope that, by the time that my term ends, we would have completed a significant numbers of constructions, refurbishment, rehabilitation and repairs of our courts.”

Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo hinted that, judges will soon be required to adopt the use of technology in the adjudication and delivery of justice.

“From the districts courts through to the hierarchy of courts, judges would need to adopt the use of technology in the adjudication and delivery of justice, because we do see cases which have taken so long before reaching the Supreme Court, you wonder whether there is any value met by the litigants. Judicial outcomes must add some value to the people who come to the courts and many times, the timeliness of delivery of justice is key.”

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By: Frederick Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post CJ proposes use of Common Fund to build, refurbish courts appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

]]> Group to petition AG, CJ for stiffer punishments for galamsey https://citifmonline.com/2017/10/group-to-petition-ag-cj-for-stiffer-punishments-for-galamsey/ Sun, 29 Oct 2017 08:10:40 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=366253 The Convenor of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey, Kenneth Ashigbey, has hinted of plans to petition the Chief Justice and Attorney Genera,l to consider empowering the law courts to hand out harsh sentences to persons who engage in illegal mining in the country. He is optimistic that stiff and harsh punishment meted to offenders, will serve […]

The post Group to petition AG, CJ for stiffer punishments for galamsey appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

]]> The Convenor of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey, Kenneth Ashigbey, has hinted of plans to petition the Chief Justice and Attorney Genera,l to consider empowering the law courts to hand out harsh sentences to persons who engage in illegal mining in the country.

He is optimistic that stiff and harsh punishment meted to offenders, will serve as a deterrent to residents in most mining areas.

“When operation Vanguard and co arrest people and they take them to court, the prosecution is so bad. When it comes to foreigners, the Minerals and Mining Act talks about 30,000 to 300,000 penalty units, or from 10 to 30 years imprisonment. But we have a judge who is giving Chinese people who have been arrested GHc 2,400 fine when the minimum should have been GHc 360,000.00.”

“You have most of the Ghanaians who have just been fined GHc 2,400. That won’t be deterrent enough and it’s akin to all of us including operation vanguard and the media taking a basket to the riverside and hoping we will come back with water. It will not happen,” he lamented.

He commended government’s decision to deploy Operation Vanguard to partner other stakeholders in galamsey areas to fight the national canker that has had serious implications on the environment and water bodies.

Mr. Ashigbey made these observations at a Town Hall Meeting organized by the Media Coalition Against Galamsey in Kenyasi No1, in the Asutifi North District of the Brong Ahafo Region.

He said a lot had been achieved since the fight against galamsey was launched, and appealed to the media for support to sustain the campaign.

“If you monitor the situation on the ground now, you will realize we are gaining back our water bodies, immigration records show the influx of Chinese in the country has reduced, and there is even a proposal for them now to acquire visas when entering the country.”

He said lack of job opportunities and economic conditions, should not be used as justification to engage in the illegal act, as most of the places where galamsey takes place have the most fertile lands, whilst the most sustainable source of the country’s development is agriculture.

Mr. Ashigbey also lamented the sale of fertile lands to illegal miners, and appealed to landowners to protect and preserve the heritage left by the country’s forefathers for generations yet unborn.

He appealed to the government and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, to speed up the implementation of the government’s five-year Multilateral Mining Integrated Project (MMIP).

Operation Vanguard

The second in command of Operation Vanguard, Chief Supt. Abraham Acquaye, urged residents to be law abiding as they were prepared to do everything possible to bring an end to the menace, in line with the laws of the country.

He said successive governments have all initiated several programmes, interventions and laws, to address illegal mining, but lamented they have not been successful, and therefore assured of their preparedness to help government and majority of Ghanaians whose rights are  being abused to succeed.

He disclosed that, 515 illegal miners have so far been arrested, and put before a court, but lamented only 39 had been convicted.

He therefore expressed concern about the slow pace at which the Police and the Attorney General’s Department were handling the galamsey cases, and appealed to authorities to speed up the process.

Traditional authority’s role

The Omanhene of Kenyasi No.1 Traditional area, Nana Osei Kofi Abiri, who chaired the meeting, commended government and organizers of the programme for the initiative to sensitize the citizenry about the dangers of illegal mining.

He pledged the commitment of chiefs in the area to support the President and the country, to succeed in the fight against galamsey.

The Omanhene advised the youth to channel their energies into agriculture for their self-development and the district at large.

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By: Mashoud Kombat, Brong Ahafo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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