The Head of Communications at the Electoral Commission (EC), Eric Kofi Dzakpasu has said that some three top officials of the commission have proceeded on leave in order to protect the integrity of investigations by the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO).<\/p>\n
EOCO is investigating some officials of the Commission over the loss of GHc480, 000<\/strong><\/a><\/span> which could not be accounted for from the Commission\u2019s Endowment Fund for its staff.<\/p>\n Documents sighted by Citi News<\/strong> reveal that the Commission\u2019s Deputy Chairperson in-charge of Finance and Administration, Georgina Opoku Amankwah, Chief Accountant, Kwaku Owusu Agyei-Larbi and\u00a0 Finance Officer, Joseph Kwaku Asamoah have been asked to proceed on leave pending further investigations.<\/p>\n [contextly_sidebar id=”9gSpbcjAZZSUjB1QbDFgC5FDcrdtbaiN”]Shedding more light on the development on Eyewitness News<\/strong> Mr. Dzakpasu said the order for the three officials to proceed on leave does not mean that they have been found culpable.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Chairperson [of EC] has written to the three top officials to proceed on leave not because they have been found culpable or because they have been accused of wrongdoing but per the positions they occupy in the scheme of things and the need to ensure integrity of the investigation processes, they have been requested by the Chairpersons to proceed on leave while investigations go on,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I know is that EOCO is investigating matters related to staff endowment fund where we have some gap in the deposits which must be paid to the staff from the deductions of the staff. As a result of which EOCO has started investigations and all persons who are related to the issue have been called for questioning… The commission is fully cooperating with EOCO as far as this investigation is concerned,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n A letter written to the Chair of the EC, Charlotte Osei, dated July 4th, 2017 from the Acting Executive Director of EOCO, ACP K. K Amoah(Rtd) and sighted by Citi News<\/strong> said \u201cthe suspects are assisting in investigations.\u201d<\/p>\n Public Accounts Committee welcomes EOCO\u2019s investigation <\/strong><\/p>\n Also speaking on Eyewitness News<\/strong>, a Member of Parliament\u2019s Public Accounts Committee welcomed the investigation by EOCO, saying those found culpable should not be spared.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s very appropriate that investigations are carried into the matter\u2026indeed if at the end of the day, it is found that monies meant for worker\u2019s provident fund have been touched in a very wrong way and in an inappropriate manner, I think that those involved must be held to book and dealt with in accordance of the law,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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