It seems the staff of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may have caused the removal of their boss, Peter Abum-Sarkodie.
Documents sighted by citinewsroom.com suggest that some agitated EPA staff calling themselves Concerned citizen’s Association, on two occasions, petitioned the Ministry of Environment Science, Technology and Innovation as well as the presidency to have Mr. Abum-Sarkodie sacked.
The acting Executive Director of EPA, Peter Abum-Sarkodie, was sacked by the President on Wednesday [April 11, 2018].
In a letter signed by the Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, the Presidency said the decision had been taken by President Nana Akufo-Addo on the advice of the governing board of the EPA which did not consider Mr. Abum-Sarkodie a “suitable candidate” to take over the position in a substantive capacity.
[contextly_sidebar id=”fMH6pFmtUPMUNYd49dfVGKhTe41WVOuC”]The Concerned citizen’s Association in its 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 the 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.
Sacked EPA boss blew $81,000 on foreign trip
The Association also alleged that the sacked EPA boss blew an amount of $81,000 together with two others on a foreign trip.
“Peter Abum Sarkodie recently traveled 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 is to sign an agreement with a University in Finland. However, information reaching us suggests 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.”
“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.
“We think this is a matter of concern and must be thoroughly investigated by EOCO or the Special Prosecutor,” one of the petitions added.
In recent times, the EPA has been heavily criticized for its poor handling of environmental issues of all kinds.
Aside from the wanton destruction of water bodies by illegal miners, some communities, especially in Accra, have complained about the health hazards posed to them by factories operating within residential areas.
There have been separate cases at La, Kuntunse and Shai Osudoku. In most of these cases, residents have not been satisfied with the EPA’s handling of their issues.
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By: citinewsroom.com/Ghana
