The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission 9EC), Jean Mensa, has vowed never to allow the Commission to slip back into controversies of financial malfeasance and mismanagement.
“We are determined to remove the shrouds of secrecy that have characterised our operations and to shed light on all activities, as a first step, we intend to publish our audited reports going forward and to inform the public about how much this election cost,” she stressed.
Speaking at
the inauguration of the EC’s Audit Committee, Mrs. Mensa noted that the EC will
publish audited reports and the cost of elections to ensure transparency and introduce
the right systems to ensure proper institutional governance.
“By so doing, we have no doubt that we will gain
the confidence of the good people of this nation and be considered a credible
and trusted partner in our democracy, additionally, the EC will publish an
annual statement, showing the implementation of the recommendations as required
in its reports.
“Together, with the commission, I believe that
we can and we will build a credible system that we can all be proud of, let me
emphasize that never again should the electoral commission be engulfed in
issues relating to the misapplication of funds.
“Never again
should the electoral commission operate without systems and policies to guide
our financial operations, never again should there be an abuse of the
taxpayers’ funds and never again should the commission flout procurement rules
to the detriment of the public purse.
“As a new commission, we leave the past behind
and move forward in an era of transparency guided by truth, the principles of
accountability, fairness as enshrined in our motto, this is a new era and a new
dawn for the electoral commission,” Mrs Mensa pointed out.
Ransford Adjei, Director of the Internal Audit Agency,
raised concerns about the risk levels of the EC saying “we expect you to play a
very important role in the governance of the electoral commission and I believe
with the caliber of people we have chosen, we have no doubts at all that they
are going to champion accountability.”
The President on June 28, 2018, dismissed the Chairperson of the EC at the time, Charlotte Osei and her two deputies, Amadu Sulley and Georgina Opoku Amankwa, from office upon the recommendation of a committee set up by the Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo and were dismissed for procurement breaches and financial malfeasance. –citinewsroom.com
