Anti-corruption crusader, Vitus Azeem has urged the Special Prosecutor to conduct a thorough investigation into the personal bank accounts and assets declaration records of the Chief Executive of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), Kofi Ofosu Nkansah.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor conducted an unexpected audit of the NEIP CEO’s office, arresting him on allegations of using NEIP funds for his personal political campaigns.
Mr. Nkansah has denied the allegation, noting that the monies transferred were to beneficiaries under the YouStart pilot project and not delegates.
He has since been granted bail as investigations continue.
But Vitus Azeem believes it is easy for the Special Prosecutor to verify the source of funds, which would serve as proof of whether the person of interest is guilty or not of the charges levelled against him.
“In this particular case where the OSP is investigating, he can call for the personal asset declaration and look at it to see if the money that the person is using can be traced to what was pre-recorded in the asset declaration and to the person’s bank accounts,” he said.
Also, the Director of Programmes and Policies at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, Dr. Kojo Pumpuni Asante, has condemned vote-buying in election processes in the country.
According to Dr. Asante, “If vote-buying is not brought to an end, it will continuously delegitimise the democratic process in the country.”
“The parties are beginning to see the effect of that [vote buying] because when money becomes the ultimate determinate of who represents people in communities, the essence of any party will be completely lost,” he said.
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