According to them, the rate at which waste is engulfing the country is alarming and something must be done immediately to prevent potentially disastrous health and security problem to the country.

[contextly_sidebar id=”UOhmhnkLYQKtw40OX4zWBgZOSEquJvDp”]“OccupyGhana has noted with concern the huge swathes of plastic and other solid and human waste engulfing our country, especially our capital. It is rapidly reaching an alarming state.We have also been monitoring how the matter of sanitation is being addressed by Government and we are concerned about Government’s commitment to resolving it.”

They said there has been little effort by the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources to address the issue.

“The reality is that by the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) and its predecessor statute, issues of sanitation are to be handled by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Authorities (MMDAs). There are also the provisions of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency Act, 1998 (Act 564), and the functions assigned to that Agency. This legislative dilemma is compounded by the Environmental Sanitation provisions under Part Five of the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), falling within the remit of the Ministry of Health. We, therefore, have doubts as to what the Ministry will do and achieve when it technically has no legislative mandate to handle sanitation anywhere in the country unless its role is to coordinate the activities of all the legislatively-mandated bodies on issues of sanitation.”

They mentioned that the ‘National Sanitation Campaign’ launched by the President has done nothing about the poor sanitation since it was launched in November 2017, and has no clear-cut time on when and how the program would be role out.

“The campaign promised the introduction of automated street sweepers, the formation of a National Sanitation Brigade and appointment of Sanitation Marshalls and Deputies in Municipal and District Assemblies; these appointments were to have been made within one week of the announcement by the President.”

OccupyGhana has also called upon MMDAs and the Ghana Police to rigidly enforce laws regarding littering the environment, refuse disposal and open defecation, and charge and prosecute offenders.

They have also urged Ghanaians to desist from littering the environment, refrain from disposing of refuse improperly and stop the practice of open defecation.

According to them, in order for Ghana to attain a desirable level of cleanliness, the bodies tasked with sanitation responsibilities by law, must strictly apply sanitation laws, carry out intensive and sustained public education and build a new positive attitude in citizens towards caring for and protecting the environment.

OccupyGhana urged Ghanaians to strive as a people to live up to a dying national maxim: “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”

–

By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post OccupyGhana calls on gov’t to address sanitation issues appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

OccupyGhana in a statement said the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), must focus on introducing new laws that take modern trends into consideration.

[contextly_sidebar id=”xizS8Dm8wuAHTg8IcCWUFP9g3rGrOTO0″]”What is required is not a forcible re-implementation of it, but a root-and-stem review that repeals the existing law and regime, and, if necessary, introduce a new statute and regime that takes the current realities in broadcasting into account,” the group stated.

Ghana’s TV licensing Act 1966 (NLCD 89)  defines a television receiving set as “an apparatus constructed solely for the reception of pictures (with or without sound) transmitted by radio,” of which owners are to pay the license fee.

But in OccupyGhana’s view, the law “rules out the vast majority of apparatuses (Smart TVs, phones, pads, tablets, etc.) that are currently in use, and which are manufactured to receive and process more than just pictures.”

“The reality is that a strict application of a law that is based on 1966 technology, to 2017 apparatuses would leave the licensing authority with precious little or almost nothing to enforce the license against.”

Occupy Ghana, in the statement, also said there was “no constitutional or statutory basis” for the GBC to be retaining the revenue collected, “and then determining how to use it, outside laws passed and appropriations made by Parliament.”

The GBC retains 72 percent of the fees collected, and the corporation’s former Director, William Ampem Darko, argued the state broadcaster could shut down without the fees due to its financial challenges.

The group further argued that because of the proliferation of media organizations, GBC was not the only source of public information “for it to warrant an automatic right to TV Licence Fees and to be able to produce and broadcast public information.”

Others like a law Lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) Faculty of Law, Clement Akapame, have suggested that agencies like Ghana Standards Authority or the Ghana Revenue Authority should take charge of the collection of TV license fees instead of the GBC.

A pro-NPP pressure group, the Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), also kicked against attempts to enforce the TV license regime and said it would not allow Ghanaians to be bullied into paying the fee especially for those who consume TV on phones.

AFAG also contended that the State was criminalizing the citizenry over a system that is being abandoned all over the world.

Concerns over the TV license regime followed the Chief Justice’s setting up of the special TV license courts handle people who refuse to pay the mandatory TV license fees in line with the TV licensing Act.

Domestic TV users are to pay between GHc36 and GHc60 for one or more TV sets in a household, while TV set repairers and sales outlets are to pay an annual sum of between GHc60 to GHc240.

Find here the full OccupyGhana statement

–

By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Scrap and replace ‘obsolete’ TV license law – OccupyGhana appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Mr. Ayisi Boateng’s comment has been widely criticized with many calling on the President to sack him with immediate effect.

OccupyGhana in a statement also urged the government to publicly denounce the statement and dissociate itself from it.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ppGxFSQWAllL5r8bcELrKRjZBKfQ6dG5″]“We demand from Mr. Ayisi Boateng an unqualified apology to the people of Ghana for both his appalling initial comments and his subsequent statement expressing lack of remorse. We call on the NPP and the government to denounce the statement and demand a full retraction and apology,” the statement said.

OccupyGhana said the President should sack the diplomat immediately if he refuses to apologize.

“If he should fail or refuse to do that, then we respectfully and humbly call on the President to remove Mr. Ayisi Boateng from office as High Commissioner.”

Mr. Ayisi Boateng has been in the news for saying that his first priority is to members of the NPP, and that if he had his own way, members of the party’s Tertiary Students’ Confederacy Network (TESCON) will be prioritized for various jobs.

“…this government is doing its best to create job opportunities and me for instance, I told my people over there [that], it is because of NPP that I’m here, so the NPP man is my priority. I told them when NDC was in power it was Kwesi Ahwoi who was there, now we are in power, so Ayisi-Boateng is here with you. My topmost priority is the problems of an NPP person before any other Ghanaian, take it or leave it,” he said.

OccupyGhana said “we cannot condone such statements, and we condemn them in no uncertain terms as unbefitting of an envoy and holder of a high privileged diplomatic office.”

“We also condemn the statement made by the acting NPP Chairman, Mr. Freddie Blay, that suggested support for Mr. Ayisi Boateng’s position.

Below is the full statement from OccupyGhana:

1st  NOVEMBER 2017

OCCUPYGHANA® PRESS STATEMENT

OCCUPYGHANA® DEMANDS AN UNQUALIFIED APOLOGY FROM MR. GEORGE AYISI BOATENG OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE HIS REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

OccupyGhana® is disgusted and appalled by High Commissioner George Ayisi Boateng’s discriminatory comments that pitched partisan  interests above those of other Ghanaians. We are even more shocked by his unrepentant expression of lack of remorse in the face of the massive expressions of disappointment at his divisive comments.

We do not have to remind the High Commissioner that as a public officer of his standing, he is required to speak both with honour and from a patriotic disposition. He has failed in this regard.

We do not have to remind the High Commissioner that he must operate above party cronyism and the prioritization of partisan interests above the supreme interests of the Ghanaian people. He has failed in this regard.

We do not have to remind the High Commissioner that his comments run counter to the theme of his own party’s Manifesto: “An Agenda for Change. Creating Prosperity & Equal Opportunities for All.” He has failed in this regard too.

We cannot condone such statements, and we condemn them in no uncertain terms as unbefitting of an envoy and holder of a high privileged diplomatic office.

We also condemn the statement made by the Acting NPP Chairman, Mr. Freddie Blay that suggested support for Mr. Ayisi Boateng’s position.

We demand from Mr. Ayisi Boateng an unqualified apology to the people of Ghana for both his appalling initial comments and his subsequent statement expressing lack of remorse. We call on the NPP and the government to denounce the statement and demand a full retraction and apology.

If he should fail or refuse to do that, then we respectfully and humbly call on the President to remove Mr Ayisi Boateng from office as High Commissioner.

Yours, for God & Country,

OccupyGhana®

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Ayisi Boateng must apologize or be sacked – OccupyGhana appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

“We are shocked at how these matters have been handled, and are even more appalled about the risible fines imposed on the persons found to have engaged in these criminal acts.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”qmcrOwAYMhP9TULU6lpLu4tD87D0X1lc”]“One would have thought that all would have learnt lessons from the Montie 3 incident, when it comes to dealing with the court,” Occupy Ghana said in a statement.

The Asokwa District Court in Kumasi, last Thursday, sentenced 13 Members of the Delta Force GHc1, 800 each for rioting at the premises of the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council.

They were also made to sign a bond to be of good behavior for 12 months, after the 5-month legal battle.

But OccupyGhana, which has been vocal on the issue of political vigilantism and political crimes carried out in the country, said it expected a stricter punishment to be meted out to the accused persons.

It said it expected the judiciary to send a strong signal to the 13 accused persons through a more appropriate sentence, but was disappointed that just “meek fines” were imposed on them.

“One would have expected that the judiciary, like it did with the Montie 3, would send a strong message to all, that similar conduct would not be tolerated. Unfortunately, the meek fines imposed can at best be described as a stab in the back of the judiciary by the judiciary itself,” it said.

Delta Force case

The 13 Delta Force members faced charges of conspiracy to assault, for raiding the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council and assaulting the Regional Security Coordinator because they were against his appointment.

They were earlier freed by some members of the vigilante group in open court, after the presiding judge remanded the 13 into police custody.

The eight who caused the confusion at the court were arrested, while the 13 fugitives subsequently turned themselves into the police.

The eight were accused of aiding the escape, and the 13 escapees were charged and fined.

But the charges against the court raiders, were eventually dropped under controversial circumstances by the State over a supposed lack of evidence.

The Attorney-General’s Department at the time said it had not sanctioned the state prosecutor in Kumasi to drop the case involving the eight who raided the court.

This angered many Ghanaians who felt the eight persons had been let off the hook after a brazen attack on the Judiciary for political reasons.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post OccupyGhana appalled over paltry fines for Delta Force 13 appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The individuals are expected to refund the money with interest according to the Bank of Ghana rate.

[contextly_sidebar id=”lcgoMet6ocOc9zKuDmv8qEQxyD0QRqke”]Addressing the media on Wednesday, Mr Domelevo stated that many more people will be served surcharge notice in the coming days adding that his outfit is committed to implementing the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Mr. Domelevo said “we are going through a pain taking exercise to build file on each case.”

“It’s a gradual process. I’m sure that you are aware that there are several adduces but we can’t tackle all of them together, we have to go gradually, systematically and build it case by case. Each case, we must build the file with all the supporting documents or evidence so that when the persons aggrieved files an appeal against us the C.I. 102 says we have only 14 days to submit our evidence to the court to prove to the court the basis we used in surcharging the persons.”

The Supreme Court in June 2017 ordered the Auditor General to, with immediate effect, begin surcharging persons found to have misappropriated monies belonging to the state.

The seven-member panel of justices, presided over by incoming Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, did not give reasons for their judgment at the time.

The order follows a suit filed by pressure group, Occupy Ghana in June 2016, seeking an order directing the Auditor-General to issue disallowances and surcharges to and in respect of all persons and entities found in relevant, successive reports to have engaged in misappropriation of state funds.

Mr. Domelevo said his outfit is strategically building a solid case in order not to lose in court should any of the aggrieved persons file an appeal.

“…By the time you go and file the appeal against us, we have our evidence ready. Starting from yesterday, I’m reviewing seven more files and before the close of day today, I will be issuing seven more certificates. Because my review show that work done is good. Currently, the only person issuing this certificate is the Auditor General; myself because I want to be sure that I start on a very good note. When they go to court I must be able to prove to the court the reasons why I surcharged and why the court should uphold my position,” he added.

–

By: Godwin A. Allotey & Anass Seidu/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Auditor-General begins processes to retrieve ‘looted’ state cash appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Auditor General to, with immediate effect, begin surcharging persons found to have misappropriated monies belonging to the state.

The order was made following a suit filed by Pressure Group, Occupy Ghana in June 2016.

[contextly_sidebar id=”N8VKosgF5fLF19DUKYMwyGa6UTrbUX4r”]Occupy Ghana was seeking an order directing the Auditor-General to issue disallowances and surcharges to and in respect of all persons and entities found in successive audit reports to have misappropriated state funds.

Occupy Ghana had explained that it sued the Auditor General for refusing to surcharge persons who are said to have misappropriated monies belonging to the state to the tune of over GHc40 billion.

Speaking to Citi News, a leading member of Occupy Ghana, Sydney Casely-Hayford explained that the order by the Supreme Court also gives away private firms who have illegally benefited from monies belonging to the state.

Casely-Hayford whose pressure group has pursued the case against the Auditor General since 2014 said the Supreme Court was“very emphatic in granting all our reliefs that, the Auditor General must apply the disallowance and surcharges [powers], collect all monies owed to the government under his authority and this extends not only to government officials, it also extends to people in the private sector who have been found culpable in collecting the money.”

“Every year the Auditor General does its audit and then produces a report. It was through that report that we were able to pick up the SADA, GYEEDA and all other corruption issues that have come up. In the past, all of these have been left because he just presents his report but now he is under legal obligation to prosecute all the officials involved in any of such activities. So in the case of GYEEDA, he would have to go to all those private sector people who were given contracts and never delivered the contracts and collect the monies that have been dissipated… He will refer all that to the Attorney General and the Attorney General must prosecute within the law,” he added.

Scandals

A number of corruption scandals have been recorded in the country in the last few years which involved public officials and private companies benefiting from state monies for less or no work done.

Some of the scandals include the monies lost to Subah Info Solutions deal, the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA,  the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) and the GHc3.6 million bus branding saga.

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Private firms must cough up ‘stolen’ state cash – Occupy Ghana   appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

[contextly_sidebar id=”2dmlMVu6GrhM5ztCb1jsMCOAkF856sVN”]It said the practice, which has been seen many times in Ghana’s history still lingers to this day and continues to deprive innocent citizens of their basic human rights.

A statement by the group copied to citifmonline.com strongly condemned the lynching of Captain Maxwell Mahama, a 5^th Infantry Battalion officer who was lynched and burned by some youth of Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region on Monday.

OccupyGhana also called for a full-scale investigation and prosecution of the culprits.

“We as a people should hang our collective heads in shame for this despicable act. It behoves us all to lend our voice in calling for a thorough investigation into this rank act. It is incumbent on all of us to not rest until the actors in the morbid killing of Captain Mahama are found, arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” it said.

Read OccupyGhana’s full statement below:

OCCUPYGHANA® CONDEMNS THE LYNCHING OF CAPTAIN MAXWELL ADAM MAHAMA BY A MOB IN DENKYIRA-OBUASI

It is alleged that in the early morning hours of May 29, 2017, one Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama went jogging along a road in Denkyira-Obuasi, in the Upper Denkyira West District of the Central region. He belonged to the 5th Infantry Battalion (5BN) at Burma Camp in Accra but was stationed in Denkyira-Obuasi where he commanded a detachment of soldiers officially deployed for duties in the Upper Wassa Forest Reserve. It is alleged that he wore a pistol in a holster as he ran.

Allegedly, a woman who saw him mistakenly assumed he was an armed robber. It is further alleged that there had been a robbery in the town recently, and so she alerted others who organized a mob. Whatever the truth is, this poor captain was attacked by the mob from the town. He was stoned to death and his body set on fire.

He died ignominiously. We have seen videos circulating on social media that purports to record aspects of this horrific incident.

We at OccupyGhana® wish to extend our condolences to his family, the wife and children he has left behind and the Ghana Armed Forces for this loss.

It was not too long ago when the ire of the nation was raised over a young woman being stripped naked and abused by a mob in Kumasi. The woman was allegedly caught attempting to steal GH¢1,100 from a shop owner in the PZ Area in Adum, Kumasi, an allegation that later was found to be false.

The practice of mob justice is unfortunately a rather dark side of our country’s history and does not seem to want to go away. It is unconstitutional, barbaric, unjust, unfair and criminal, and often has fatal consequences, as was the case of Captain Mahama.

It often ensnares the innocent and deprives law enforcement of the chance to thoroughly investigate cases. Moreover, it denies victims due process and constitutes an abuse of their human rights and violation of their dignity.  And, our Constitution demand respect of the right to life and outlaws all extra-judicial killing.

The brutal murder of the Captain exhibits a certain depravity and wanton disregard for the sanctity of human life that leaves a rather deep stain on our nation. Should his life not have mattered more than the wish to mete out justice beside the road somewhere in Denkyira? Should we not always put life first?

This dastardly act also exposes a dire lack of appreciation of what human rights and dignity are. The perpetrators of this heinous crime may have mirrored our nation and its people’s sore lack of knowledge, understanding and appreciation of these basic human entitlements.

Reports indicate that the Captain was in the Denkyira area as part of the military’s “Operation Calm Life” involving fight armed robbery and illegal small-scale mining or galamsey, twin scourges that are plaguing our dear nation. Is it not ironic and tragic that in his quest to fight these plagues, he fell to another? Is our nation so infested with the wrong and nefarious that good people are now falling victim as they seek to serve this great nation?

We as a people should hang our collective heads in shame for this despicable act.

It behoves us all to lend our voice in calling for a thorough investigation into this rank act. It is incumbent on all of us to not rest until the actors in the morbid killing of Captain Mahama are found, arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We as Ghanaians should stand up against mob justice whenever and wherever it happens. It is high time that this malignant and festering cancer is rooted out of our civil society that is quickly turning uncivil. Further, we all need to remind ourselves that each of us is endowed with unalienable human rights and dignity that is buttressed by our Constitution and that we all need to respect those rights as it pertains to ourselves and to others. Then and only then will God bless this homeland Ghana and make us great and strong.

Yours, in the perpetual Service of God & Country

OccupyGhana®

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post OccupyGhana condemns ‘barbaric’ lynching of Capt. Mahama appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The two, however, remain members of group. A statement issued by OccupyGhana thanked the two for their service to its anti-corruption campaign, and wished them well in their new endeavors.

George Andah and Yofi Grant who were active members of the group, are now serving in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.

While Yofi Grant is now serving as the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), George Andah is the Deputy Minister for Communications, and MP for Awutu-Senya West.

OccupyGhana is a social and non-partisan pressure group which has as its mandate a commitment to ensuring that Ghana develops to its full economic potential.

Although the group claims to be non-political, some members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) have alleged that the group is a pro-NPP group.

Read the full statement below:

RESIGNATION OF NENYI GEORGE ANDAH AND YOFI GRANT FROM OCCUPYGHANA EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

OCCUPYGHANA wishes to formally announce the resignation of Nenyi George Andah and Yofi Grant from its Executive Council.

Nenyi and Yofi however remain members of OccupyGhana and will carry to their respective new endeavours, the core values and ideologies of OCCUPYGHANA, promoting good governance and abhorring corruption.

We thank them for their past and continued dedication to the OCCUPYGHANA cause and wish them very well in their new endeavours.

Yours in service for God and Country

OCCUPYGHANA

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Yofi Grant, George Andah resign from Occupy Ghana executive council appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This comes after anti-corruption group, OccupyGhana succeeded its three-year-long quest to get the state auditor to do so.

[contextly_sidebar id=”5PXY6jpl3lKtn6EMO2SCsAiGWFfApi5Q”]OccupyGhana in a statement copied to citifmonline.com said,  “Since 12th November, 2014 OccupyGhana® has been battling the Auditor-General, urging him to exercise the constitutional and statutory powers of Disallowance and Surcharge, and thereby help Ghana to recover the billions of Cedis that are lost to the nation each year through blatant and largely unpunished public sector corruption.”

The group, which has initiated legal proceedings against the Auditor-General over the latter’s reluctance to exercise the powers of Dis-allowance and Surcharge said it [Occupy Ghana] is ready to withdraw the case immediately the Auditor-General issues the first Disallowances and Surcharges.

Read the full statement below:

FEBRUARY 13, 2017

OCCUPYGHANA’S PROPOSALS PASSED INTO LAW IN GHANA

OccupyGhana® is happy to announce that it has just received a copy of the High Court (Civil Procedure) (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules, 2016 (CI 102), which regulates appeals to the High Court from the Auditor-General’s Disallowances and Surcharges.

Since 12th November, 2014 OccupyGhana® has been battling the Auditor-General, urging him to exercise the constitutional and statutory powers of Disallowance and Surcharge, and thereby help Ghana to recover the billions of Cedis that are lost to the nation each year through blatant and largely unpunished public sector corruption.

In the course of that engagement, OccupyGhana® discovered that the requirement under Article 187(10) of the Constitution for the enactment of rules of court to regulate appeals against the Auditor-General’s Disallowances and Surcharges had not been complied with. On 28th May 2015, OccupyGhana wrote to the Rules of Court Committee to inquire about those rules. As a result of the subsequent interactions, OccupyGhana was invited to submit, and submitted to the Rules of Court Committee, proposed draft rules for enactment as required under Article 187(10). Subsequently, OccupyGhana received for its comments, the draft bill which captured almost verbatim, the proposals we had made.

It has always been OccupyGhana’s contention that the Auditor-General has more power to commence the process of recovering monies lost to Ghana by issuing the Disallowances and Surcharges, than the simple annual ritual of issuing ‘journalistic’ Reports to Parliament containing mere “recommendations.” Indeed, in the words of the Auditor-General in the 2011 and 2013 Reports to Parliament, “The cataloguing of financial irregularities in my Report on MDAs and Other Agencies has become an annual ritual that seems to have no effect.”

In our conservative estimates based on the Auditor-General’s own Reports to Parliament from 2003 to 2014 (excluding 2009), Ghana lost almost GH¢2.5 Billion through Ministries, Department and Agencies alone. And between 2009 and 2014, amounts lost to Ghana through Public Boards, Corporations and Other Statutory Institutions were over GH¢5 Billion.

It is the continued, blatant theft of the nation’s monies through public sector corruption and the apparent unwillingness of the Auditor-General to exercise the powers of Disallowance and Surcharge, that compelled OccupyGhana to reluctantly commence proceedings before the Supreme Court on 21st July 2016. That matter is still pending, and on 31st January 2017 the Supreme Court directed the parties to file further arguments on the matter.

As we wait for this matter to be concluded in court or settled out of court if the Auditor-General simply issues the required Disallowances and Surcharges, we are gratified to witness the enactment of these rules, CI 102, which we have taken the liberty to christen “The OG Rules.” But more importantly, it shows that any labour for mother Ghana is not in vain. We also express our sincere gratitude to the Rules of Court Committee, and particularly Her Ladyship the Chief Justice for the opportunity to work together on this matter. It is in the same spirit that we reiterate our long-expressed willingness to drop the court action the day the Auditor-General issues the first Disallowances and Surcharges.

Yours, in the perpetual Service for God & Country

OccupyGhana®.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

The post New law to force Auditor-General recover misappropriated state funds appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The allegations of bribery surfaced when a Minority member of the Appointments Committee, Mahama Ayariga, MP for Bawku Central, accused the Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko of bribing the 10 Minority members on the Committee with GHc 3,000 to pass him.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ygDHPXBG7ElLPZZUpASVKXy1IIberiTq”]OccupyGhana in a statement described the allegations as damning to the integrity of Ghana’s Legislature and stressed that the allegations must not be glossed over in the name of partisanship.

Thus, the group is adamant the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Police Service must immediately constitute a team to investigate the allegations.

It also called for the “harshest of parliamentary and possibly criminal sanctions” against those making the allegations if the claims are found to be false.

“We call for an independent Police investigation into the damning allegations and a no-holds-barred criminal prosecution of anyone found to be on the wrong side of Ghanaian law in this scandalous development. In the same vein, we demand the harshest of parliamentary and possibly criminal sanctions for those making the allegations if they prove to be false. We respectfully call on the Police CID to immediately empanel a team to commence investigations and establish the truth, or the lack thereof, in any part of the nation-wrecking allegations.”

“We absolutely refuse to allow Ghana’s Parliament to either add itself to the list of the country’s most corrupt institutions or become a citadel of false allegations, and our demand for this probe will settle the matter of whether or not our legislative arm of government can be trusted to uphold the rule of Law in the Ghanaian Republic,” the statement concluded.

Background

Mr. Ayariga alleged that the purported bribe money was given to the Minority Chief Whip, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka by the Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Joseph Osei-Owusu for onward disbursement to the Minority members of the committee.

Although the Chief Whip and the Chairman have denied the claims, the Mr. Ayariga has insisted he is certain about the allegations.

Mr. Osei-Owusu has also stated that it is impossible for members the Appointments Committee to be influenced by bribes after sittings as the committee never defers decisions on persons vetted, thus leaving no room for external influence.

Find below OccupyGhana’s full statement

OCCUPYGHANA® CALLS FOR POLICE PROBE INTO PARLIAMENTARY BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS

OccupyGhana® has observed with increasing unease, allegations and denials of corruption making the trade between Members of the Ghanaian Parliament’s Appointments Committee.

Having been profoundly disturbed by the exposés of palpable judicial corruption in Ghana’s courts, and working tirelessly over the space of our existence to help stamp out corruption in executive governance and in public service, we are unhappy about the allegations of parliamentary corruption and bribery being made by MPs against some of their number and others.

We are disturbed by the allegations of parliamentary rot and corruption by credible persons of the Ghanaian society against various other Committees selected to work on Bills such as the GIMPA Act, going as far as to accuse MPs of demanding bribes and payments before sitting on bills. We recall Parliament’s abject failure, refusal or neglect to investigate allegations of corruption made against its members by the immediate past Majority Leader, just before his elevation to that high office.

The present allegations of bribery are grave and sobering and impinge on the integrity not only of Parliament but also of the image of the Ghanaian Republic. These allegations must not be glossed over and brushed under the carpet by the usually lackadaisical or complicit workings of partisan politics.

We call for an independent Police investigation into the damning allegations and a no-holds-barred criminal prosecution of anyone found to be on the wrong side of Ghanaian law in this scandalous development. In the same vein, we demand the harshest of parliamentary and possibly criminal sanctions for those making the allegations if they prove to be false. We respectfully call on the Police CID to immediately empanel a team to commence investigations and establish the truth, or the lack thereof, in any part of the nation-wrecking allegations.

We absolutely refuse to allow Ghana’s Parliament to either add itself to the list of the country’s most corrupt institutions or become a citadel of false allegations, and our demand for this probe will settle the matter of whether or not our legislative arm of government can be trusted to uphold the rule of Law in the Ghanaian Republic.

Yours, in the perpetual Service for God & Country

OccupyGhana®

–

By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Police must probe vetting bribery allegations – OccupyGhana appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.