Ghana@50 to be probed

By Edmund Mingle
The President, John Evans Atta Mills, yesterday instituted a three-member presidential Commission of Inquiry to probe alleged financial malfeasance relating to transactions of the Ghana@50 Secretariat which organised the country’s golden jubilee independence anniversary in 2007.

The President believes that the probe is critical since it would provide answers to questions of how the millions of Ghana cedis entrusted with the Secretariat were managed, an issue assumed public interest since 2007.

Wielding the powers of a High Court to probe the activities of the Secretariat which have raised eyebrows, Commission has Justice Isaac Duose, a Court of Appeal Judge as Chairman, and Mr. O. T. Prempeh, a former Auditor-General and Ms. Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, a legal practitioner, as members.

The terms of reference of the Commission are to inquire into and report on allegations of improper use of public and any other funds; inquire into the use by the Secretariat of any movable and immovable property; inquire into any other matter which appears to be Commission to be incidental to or reasonable related to the Ghana@50 celebrations which in the opinion of the Commission ought to be enquired into; and to make recommendations in respect of the findings of fact of the Commission.

It will undertake public hearing where persons deemed relevant to the work of the Commission shall be invited for questioning. All witnesses called to give evidence are entitled to a legal counsel.

Mahama Ayariga, Presidential Spokesperson told a news conference at the Castle in Accra yesterday that the setting up of the Commission was in exercise of the powers conferred on the President under clause (1 a) of Article 278 of the Constitution.

He denied that it was a direct fall out of the marathon interrogation of Kwadwo Mpiani, former Chief of Staff in the past administration by the Bureau of National Investigations on a “wide range of issues” including the Ghana@50 Secretariat of which he was the supervising Minister, saying that “the Commission’s work is to address the sustained public quest for answers to the management of funds by the Secretariat.”

“This will offer all persons accused of dealing in financial malpractices relating to the work of the Secretariat to clear themselves,” he stated, He could not say exactly when the Commission was to finish its work and present a report, but noted that “the President expects them to work expeditiously.”

The Presidential Spokesperson hoped that all witnesses that were invited would cooperate with the Commission, so that the Commission could work within a reasonable time.

“The President will take the next step after receiving the Commission report,” he said, stressing that that next step would depend on the findings and recommendations of the Commission.

Revelations of alleged financial malfeasance at the Secretariat, which had Dr. Wereko Brobby as Chief Executive Officer, sparked public outcry last January when the government transition team took stock of the transactions and accounts of the Secretariat.

An interim Auditor-General’s Report on the transactions of the Secretariat presented to the transition team cited huge financial irregularities and poor accounting systems undertaking by the Secretariat, which among other things oversaw the purchase of luxury vehicles and building of plush houses for use by dignitaries that attendance the country’s independence anniversary.

On receiving the transition team’s report in March, President Mills promised to scrutinize it and cause investigations into matters that required clarifications.

During the transition team’s work, both embattled Mr. Mpiani and Dr. Wereko-Brobby denied any wrongdoing and indicated their readiness to appear before any investigative body.