Why EC Chair accepted V8 LandCruiser from the Presidency

The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs Charlotte Osei has confirmed that she was allocated a 2015 V8 Toyota Landcruiser vehicle from the presidency after her appointment in 2015.

However, she explains that:”This is certainly not a new practice in Ghana’s public service. Indeed, the office of the Chief of Staff provided and continues to provide vehicles for many government institutions and appointees.”

Mrs Osei’s explanation was contained in a 17-page document submitted to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), a copy of which has been seen by Graphic Online.

A group of “concerned staff” of the Electoral Commission have petitioned the President asking for impeachment proceedings and removal of Mrs Osei as chairperson of the EC on grounds of misconduct and conflict of interest.

The petitioners have filed a similar complaint at EOCO asking for investigations into their claims that, she compromised her independence and neutrality of the commission by arranging for the vehicle from the Presidency without going through the procurement process or recourse to the Commission.

On Friday, July 21, 2017, Mrs Osei through her lawyer, Mr Thaddeus Sory provided responses to all 27 claims, one of which was on the vehicle.

Read the claim on the vehicle and the response below

Claim 3: “Following her appointment as EC chair, Mrs. Charlotte compromised the independence and neutrality of the Commission by arranging for 2015 V8 Landcruiser with registration WR 2291-15 from the Office of the President for use as official vehicle without going through the procurement process or recourse to the Commission.”

Response 3: Mrs. Osei does not use a vehicle with the said registration number WR2291-15. Following her appointment as Chairperson, the Office of the Chief of Staff allocated Mrs. Osei a vehicle. This is certainly not a new practice in Ghana’s public service. Indeed, the office of the Chief of Staff provided and continues to provide vehicles for many government institutions and appointees. The Chairperson could therefore not have compromised her independence or neutrality as she neither requested nor lobbied for the said vehicle. Indeed, this flawed argument would imply that the Commission receiving money from the Government of Ghana compromises the neutrality of the Commission.

EC boss debunks allegations levelled against her by unfazed staff by GhanaWeb on Scribd

Source: Graphic.com.gh