Probe Reveals Electoral C'ssion in Messy Affairs

Disquieting revelations have popped up in a report compiled from investigations that were recently conducted into allegations of malfeasance made against the management of the Electoral Commission (EC).

Opoku, Andoh and Co., a Tema-based chartered accountants' firm, that carried out the investigations are expected to hand the report over to the Auditor-General (A-G), who called for the probe, to act on it in the coming weeks.

Apart from the use of donor funds, elevator, voter identity cards, cameras, computers and ballot boxes, one of the most shocking observations was made in the leasing of cameras to the Electoral Commission of Malawi (ECOM).

Though the EC of Ghana was supposed to have earned $56,750 or ?454 million from leasing the cameras, only ?57,000 had been received in Ghana from the deal.

The money, for reasons not explained to the investigators, was not paid to the EC directly.

The $56,750 was posted into the account of the International Federation for Electoral Systems (IFES).

On winding up its activities in Ghana in 2001, IFES transferred the money to the account of the Association of African Election Authorities (AAEA) of which EC of Ghana was a member.

"We were given an AAEA bank statement showing an amount of ?57,000 (fifty-seven thousand cedis) lodged in September 2000, said to be the amount transferred by IFES. The commission did not furnish us with any evidence to substantiate their representations on the settlement of the invoice," a portion of the report stated.

The EC of Ghana had signed an agreement with the EC of Malawi on January 25, 1999 to lease 500 polaroid 485B cameras at US$175 or ?1.4 million per camera for Malawi to use in preparing for her elections that year.

Ghana also sold 35 cartons of polaroid films whose price, added to the lease of cameras, totalled $56,750.

The period of the lease was to be 80 days and ECOM made to pay for any losses or damages.

"We did not sight any evidence of damage when the cameras came," the report said, enumerating three flashes, one tripod and 24 di-cutters as accessories that ECOM did not return.

It further said, "We were not shown any evidence that the accessories that were not returned had been made good by ECOM."

Internally, 87 Fuji cameras were found missing during an audit of the photomatic stores carried out on January 24, 2000.

"Although the commission said the theft of the 87 Fuji cameras has been reported to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), they could not furnish us with any correspondence to that effect," was the comment of Opoku, Andoh and Co. on that.

The 87 Fuji cameras were among 150 the manufacturers donated in October 1996 to the EC, in support of Ghana's preparations towards that year's general elections.

The loss of the many cameras and the reported cases of people using fake ID cards in the 1996 and 2000 elections may elicit further investigations.

Instructively, some of the regions in which the cameras got missing were among the areas cited by media reports in 2000 for fake ID cards.

In Western Region, 25 out of 50 cameras could not be accounted for while the Brong Ahafo office of the EC could produce only 20 of its 59 cameras. Whether the EC is culpable or not, management of its resources seemed inadequate.

The accountants, for instance, complained that the commission "could not furnish us with any evidence of the donation except a stores tally card."

They reported that the handicap had prevented them from determining the actual quantity of Fuji cameras said to have been donated.

But it is not Fuji cameras alone that the EC has lost and whose replacement may be necessary as the commission revises the nation's electoral roll in future.

As at May 31, 2002, the EC had a total of 874 voter ID card cameras in existence, as were counted by Opoku, Andoh and Co. at all offices of the commission, instead of 1,150.

In all, the commission could not account for 276 cameras, including the 87 already mentioned and 12 other Fuji brands that must have escaped the auditors in January this year.

The unaccounted for cameras are made up of 177 of 600 Polaroid cameras donated by IFES in August 1995 and 99 Fuji cameras.

Furthermore, 227 out of the 874 cameras in existence were found to be unserviceable.

When contacted, Dr. Afari Gyan, the Electoral Commissioner, described the report as some mistaken impression, refusing to speak further and pleading that he was yet to be served with a copy of the report.

A lady who responded to a Chronicle phone call to the accountants confirmed the ?57,000 that was lodged into the account, instead of $56,750.

She, however, explained that the report, which is currently in its draft stage, is yet to be submitted to the A-G and copied to affected parties.

But if this picture gives cause for worry, readers should brace themselves to read worse things about a deal Ghana entered into with the Republic of Niger to supply her with transparent ballot boxes.

And the EC's budget for the year 2000 elections too. Grab your copy of our subsequent issues!