JAnuary 16

02
CONTENT
DAILY HERITAGE TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2018
DAILY QUOTE
Your problem isn't the
problem. Your
reaction is the problem
--Anonymous
ANNIVERSARIES
06 March, Independence Day
30 March, Good Friday
02 April, Easter Monday
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WORLD
Trump denies
being racist after
crude remark
POLITICS
2018 looks good for
Ghanaians
– Dr Bawumia
BUSINESS
PG.04
Govt hits historic
fiscal deficit target
– Bawumia
SPORTS
PG.11
CAS ratifies FIFA's
life ban on referee
Lamptey
PG.10
PG.15
Showdown at EC
BY STEPHEN ODOI LARBI
THE ELECTORAL
Commission (EC)
of Ghana yesterday
afternoon became
the centre of attraction
as some police
personnel with AK 47 assault rifles
led by the Acting Executive
Director of the Economic and
Organised Crime Office, ACP K.
K. Amoah (Retd), stormed the offices
of the Commission to battle
the deputy EC boss, Georgina
Opoku Amankwaah.
Madam Opoku Amankwaah
went to her office to resume work
as earlier communicated to the
Economic and Organised Crime
Office through her lawyers and
published by Kasapafmonline.com
last week.
She had been on forced leave
since July 2017 at the instance of
the investigative agency.
Her resumption of office was
against advice from the investigative
body urging her to follow due
process since their investigations
into the Staff Endowment Fund
of the election management body
had not been concluded.
In July 2017, the EOCO, in a
letter addressed to the Chairperson
of the EC, Charlotte Osei, demanded
that Madam Opoku
Amankwaah, the Chief Accountant,
Mr Kwaku Owusu Agyei-
Larbi and the Director of
Finance, Dr Joseph Kwaku
•As Deputy C’ssioner battles EOCO
•Madam Georgina Opoku Amankwaah strongly believes that
she had not been treated fairly by the EOCO ever since the
issue of the Commission’s Staff Endowment Fund broke out
Asamoah, be made to proceed on
leave to pave the way for investigations
into the loss of about
GH¢ 480,000.00 from the Staff
Endowment Fund at the Commission.
The directive by the investigative
agency was complied with,
forcing the deputy EC chair and
the two others to proceed on
leave.
But seven months down the
line, the investigation by the
EOCO has not been completed,
provoking lawyers for Madam
Opoku Amankwaah, to write to
the EOCO informing them that
they had advised their client to resume
work immediately.
This was in spite of the forced
leave slapped on the deputy EC
boss by the security agency.
The lawyers, led by K. A. Asante
Krobea, insisted that with the
setting up of the Chief Justice’s
Committee following the petition
to the President, Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the EOCO
had no basis to insist that the
deputy EC Chairperson should
continue to stay at home.
The lawyers, in their letter
dated January 2, 2018, and captioned
‘Endowment Fund Investigation
Resumption of Official
Duty Our Client: Georgina
Opoku Amankwaah (Ms), contended
that once the President of
the land had not suspended the
deputy EC Chairperson under Article
146 (10) of the 1992 Constitution,
it was proper and fair for
her to resume work.
The Chief of Staff, Chief Justice,
Attorney-General, Senior
Minister and Chairman of the
Council of State were all served
copies of the letter addressed to
the EOCO.
Article 146 (10) of the 1992
Constitution states that “Where a
petition has been referred to a
committee under this article, the
President may:
• In the case of the Chief Justice,
acting in accordance with the
advice of the Council of State, by
warrant signed by him, suspend
the Chief Justice,
• In the case of any other Justice
of a Superior court or of any
Chairman of a Regional Tribunal,
acting in accordance with the advice
of the Judicial Council, suspend
that Justice or that Chairman
of a Regional Tribunal.
Madam Opoku Amankwaah,
per the position she is occupying,
has the same terms and conditions
of service as are applicable to an
Appeals Court Judge, according to
the 1992 Constitution.
The lawyers, therefore, advised
the deputy EC Chairperson to immediately
resume work and dared
anybody to stop her from working.
But the EOCO insisted that investigations
were still going on
and that Madam Opoku
Amankwaah’s forced leave should
continue until the Attorney-General
responds to the report that
they had submitted to her office.
In a response letter dated January
8, 2018, and signed by the Acting
Executive Director, ACP K.
K. Amoah (Retd), the EOCO advised
Madam Opoku Amankwaah
to exercise restraint and follow
due process.
“Investigation is said to be
complete when advice is received
from the Attorney-General’s Department.
Your client and others
are not on leave because of the
petition before Her Ladyship, the
Chief Justice. You will do your
client good service if you patiently
wait for the advice from the Attorney-General’s
Office. Let’s follow
due process,” the response letter
from the EOCO in part read.