General News of Thursday, 12 April 2018
Source: citinewsroom.com
2018-04-12
Peter Abum-Sarkodie, immediate past Executive Director of EPA
Immediate past Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Peter Abum-Sarkodie, allegedly blew an amount of $81,000 belonging to the agency on a foreign trip together with two others.
The allegation made by some staff of the EPA calling themselves Concerned citizen’s Association in a petition forwarded to the presidency and sighted by citinewsroom.com said the amount was to cover a three-week trip in Finland where Mr. Abum-Sarkodie was to sign an agreement with a University in Finland.
“Peter Abum Sarkodie recently travelled for three weeks (this March 2018) with two other officers (Ransford Sekyi and Angelina Tutua Mensah) who are his cohorts and form a cabal with a whopping cash amount of $81,000 of the Agency’s hard earned money. The reason being to sign an agreement with a University in Finland.
However, information later suggested that the University in Finland had already paid for their air tickets and subsistence “so there was no need to take our money in that manner” the workers said.
“Indeed, this amount could have assisted the agency to deliver excellent Environmental Management Services to the people of Ghana or better still assist government’s flagship free Senior High School program if it was donated to the state rather than being misused the way it was used.”
The concerned citizens also in the petition appealed to the Presidency to allow the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) or the Special Prosecutor to investigate the issue.
Abum-Sarkodie sacked
This revelation comes barely a day after Mr. Abum-Sarkodie was dismissed.
The acting Executive Director was sacked by the President on Wednesday [April 11, 2018].
In a letter signed by the Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, said the decision had been taken by President Nana Akufo-Addo on the advice of the governing board of the EPA which did not deem Mr. Abum-Sarkodie a “suitable candidate” to take over the position in a substantive capacity.
The Concerned citizen’s Association in two petitions [dated September 8, 2017, and March 29, 2018], explained that the EPA Executive Director was not qualified for the position because he allegedly failed an interview prior to his appointment and was also disrespectful to staff of EPA.
They also claimed that Mr. Abum-Sarkodie surrounded himself with some “dangerous” people who gave him “bad advice” which were detrimental to the EPA, and further complained about his attitude and some of his utterances they said did not augur well for EPA.