EC investigates corrupt practices at Hohoe office

The Electoral Commission (EC) says it has directed its Volta Regional Director to investigate claims that GHS20.00 was taken from each of the personnel contracted for the recent voters’ register exhibition.

The EC says the Director, Mr. Adokpo Salomey, who was notified immediately the allegations were made, is expected to report back to the Head Office by close of the week.

Sources at the Hohoe EC office suggested that the EC officers threatened to blacklist anyone who refused to pay GHS20. Over 400 people were hired by the EC for its exhibition exercise in Hohoe.

Exhibition officers are paid GHC600, while verification officers take home GHC550. But an officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said “we were invited to come for our money for the exhibition of the voters’ register. When we got here, we were asked to pay 20 cedis which is illegal.

Personally I refused to pay and for that matter they said my name will be deleted. Next time, I won’t be invited, and people paid”, he said.

He added that, those who paid had 20 cedis written against their names. “So I asked the man why we are paying GHS20…he just cancelled the 20 cedis written against my name and asked me to go and I left with my money…as you can see, this is my money, 550 cedis.

I didn’t pay a dime”. The Volta Regional Director of EC and Hohoe District officers are tight-lip on the issue but the EC’s Head of Communications, Eric Kofi Dzakpasu in an interview with Onua FM’s Yen Sempa said “we pay the people on table top but we give them appointment letter with the amount to be paid and other conditions in the letter”.

He explained that “before you start the work, you know how much to take”. Asked on whether there are some deductions when the people are being paid, Mr. Dzakpasu said there are no deductions. Mr. Dzakpasu said “we are investigating the matter and they will brief management on the outcome for a decision to be taken”.