EX-GES Accounts Officer appears before NRC

Ho, Jan 27, GNA- Mr Hosea Kofi Bediako, a former Accounts Officer of the Ghana Education Service, on Tuesday told the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) that he suspected one Mr Kudzo, then the Regional Internal Auditor of the service, engineered his conviction. A Regional Tribunal convicted Mr Bediako in 1990 for stealing 756,000 cedis belonging to his employers.

Mr Bediako said Mr Kudzo had threatened he would ensure he was jailed for exposing one Mr Zanu, who was a Bursar of the Nkonya Secondary, where he (Bediako) had worked as an Accounts Clerk. Mr Bediako said while writing the accounts books of the Nkonya Secondary School he detected some anomalies that he indicated it in a report to the Headmaster and the Regional Director of Education. He said he was later transferred to the District Education Office at Kpando and later to the Accra Regional Office for posting. He said before he left Kpando external and internal auditors audited his books and that he properly handed over his duties to his successor. Mr Bediako said later while waiting in Accra to be posted he received a message from the then Kpando District Director of Education to report at Kpando.


He was handed over to the Police over moneys he allegedly collected directly from the various headmasters under whom he worked. Mr Bediako said during his trial the headmasters were not at the tribunal to give evidence though the trial was adjourned for a month to enable the headmasters to give evidence.


Mr Justice K. Etrew Amua-Sekyi, Chairman of the Commission, said the trial and conviction of Mr Bediako was a nullity.


He said the fact that the panel that tried him kept on changing was against the rules of procedure for a fair trial.


Referring to the records of proceedings of that Tribunal, Mr Justice Amua-Sekyi declared "You were not properly tried by the Tribunal." Asked by Bishop Charles Palmer-Buckle, a member of the Commission, whether cover-ups existed in the GES, the petitioner said yes and also agreed with the Bishop that it was difficult for honest people to work in that sector.

Alhaji Mustapha K. Boateng, who said he was a fuel retailer at Golokwati near Hohoe, said in 1979 soldiers from the Mortar Regiment in Ho took away all his consignment of fuel and seized his car. The committee asked him to provide the necessary documents and witnesses to authenticate his claim.


Alhaji Boateng was not sure of the registration number of his vehicle and said all the documents covering it were in the car at the time it was seized.


He said he lost 500 gallons each of kerosene and diesel and 3,000 gallons of super petrol.


As at the time the Commission rose for a committee meeting only the two petitioners out of the 10 listed for the day appeared to give evidence.