Ghana@50 probe begins today

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the activities of the Ghana@50 Secretariat will commence its public hearings Wednesay. The Commission has 90 days to submit its report. A statement from the Commission said public sittings would be from Mondays to Thursdays at 9:00a.m. to 4:00p.m. at the Conference Room of the Old Parliament House Building in Accra. The three-member Commission has Justice Isaac Duose of the Court of Appeal as Chairman, with Osei Tutu Prempeh, Former Auditor-General and Mrs. Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, a Legal Practitioner, as members. The Commission, the statement said, has Mrs. Barbara Tetteh-Charway and Mrs. Evelyn Keelson as Counsel and Secretary. Its terms of reference are: To inquire into and report on allegations of improper use of public and of any other funds; to inquire into the use by the Secretariat of any property, movable and unmovable; to inquire into any other matter which appears to the Commission to be incidental to or reasonably 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 by the Commission. The Commission was established by C.I. 61, issued by President John Evans Atta Mills on June 1, 2009 under Article 278 Clause 1(a) of the Constitution. It was inaugurated by Vice President John Mahama on June 17, 2009. The Commission started its work last Monday, collating and analyzing a large volume of memoranda and petitions from interested parties. “On Tuesday, members inspected buildings and furnishings at La and Cantonments sites of Ghana @50 projects. Commissioners visited also the Ridge site for the same purpose, looked at the Independence Square and 28th February Monuments, and also visited the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. “The Commission wishes to notify all who have been invited to appear before it or to submit memoranda or petitions, to take this announcement as a reminder and act accordingly.” Source: Daily Guide