TOP NCCE MEN CITED IN FRAUD
After months of investigations, it has been established that there are growing stinky deals and other financial malfeasance masterminded by some top officials of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).
Close sources at the NCCE pointed accusing fingers at the Director of Finance, Mr Michael Dadzie, Mr Bismark Nana Addo, a staff at the Accounts Department, Mr Kwaku Baah, a retired staff and Chairman of the NCCE's Donewell Provident Fund, as some of the top officials who engaged in furtive deals at the Commission.
The paper found out that although most of the Commission's staff were aware of the deals, they chosen to be silent for fear of being transferred or sacked.
This reporter gathered, among other things, that the Commission in collaboration with Donewell Insurance established the NCCE Donewell Provident Fund, in 2003, a fund that the over 1,500 staff of the Commission nationwide could access during retirement or resignation.
This fund, some of the staff hinted, had only three signatories. They are Mr Bismark Nana Addo, one Mr Anderson and Mr Kwaku Baah.
The staff alleged that Mr Bismark Nana Addo who is now in the Ashanti Region, forged signatures of Mr Kwaku Baah and Mr Anderson to the account and managed to withdraw some undisclosed amount from the Donewell Provident Fund.
According to them, when the fraud was detected, Mr Bismark Nana Addo was expected to be dismissed but because the deal involved other top executive officials of the Commission, he is still at post.
“When you come here to look for a job, the moment you are given an appointment letter, the directors impose the Provident Fund bill on you; they will tell you that it is either you accept to contribute to the fund or no job; this is because they know what they get from the funds contributed,” a worried insider told the paper.
The enraged insider indicated that management has not been able to spell out clearly the terms and conditions of the fund, but always insisted that it was compulsory to contribute to the fund.
He continued that “I have contributed to the Fund for seven good years now and when it becomes critical for me to withdraw some of the funds for family purposes they tell me that my money which I have contributed will be given to me as a loan and I will pay with interest – my brother my own money ooo!” an anonymous staff stressed.
Our sources alleged that the Director of Finance, Mr Michael Dadzie inflated prices of items bought into NCCE stores that were meant for educational campaigns on the Commission.
The paper also found out that, way back in 2004, Mr Michael Dadzie led the Commission to purchase about 23 vehicles which were Toyota Condor vehicles and some buses from Gamut Motors to enhance activities of the Commission.
Our sources disclosed that since it was a bulk purchase, two additional Toyota Saloon Cars were given out as a dash but Mr Michael Dadzie and some other top officials conspired and requested that instead of the two Toyota Saloon Cars for dash, they should be given the amount worth the prices of the vehicles which Gamut Motors agreed.
“Nobody knows where that money for the two Toyota Saloon cars went to and if you dare ask, you are threatened to be sacked or transferred to a village somewhere; as a result of this, every staff at the Commission is tight lipped every time they see deals being transacted,” an insider told TODAY.
Insiders at the Commission further pointed out that some massive financial mismanagement was also being carried out at the Transport Department of the NCCE.
“What they do at the Transport Department is to look for spare parts of old and broken down vehicles and draw a whole budget for it and they send it to the Financial Director and these huge budgets are approved since they would all get their share,” a close source alleged.
In a brief reaction to the allegations leveled against him, Mr Michael Dadzie the Director of Finance at the NCCE denied the allegations describing them as false.
He explained: “… I was at the accounts department in 2004 and I was not the Director of Finance at that time so I have nothing to do with those 23 or so vehicles that were bought from Japan Motors and Gamut.
“Over here, any contract that is given out goes through a bidding process so there is no way somebody somewhere might manipulate the purchasing processes involved.”
“Every car we have bought from Japan Motors and Gamutt it is on records so no one has requested for any money from anywhere.”
“On Bismark Nana Addo's case, I was on leave at that time and I came back to hear the news myself that he had engaged in a fraudulent act with the Donewell Provident Fund. I remember the Chairman of the Commission Mr Laarry Bimi then set up an internal audit committee to dig into the case.
“On the Provident Fund, it is not compulsory as the allegations suggested; we even have staffs who are not contributors of the fund but we help them when they are in need.”
“It is not true that we impose the bills of the Donewell insurance provident fund on them.”
Mr Napoleon Agboada the Director of Administration of the NCCE on his part also stated that,
“We do not push to staffs compulsorily to contribute to the Provident Fund,” said, he added: “There are no fishy deals going on in the commission; In fact, all these allegations are not true.”
There were times that the commission even bought coffins for some members of staff when they were bereaved and these staffs were non contributors of the Provident Fund.
“On financial mismanagement at the Transport Department, I would like to state that the commission always do checks on the prices of every spare part that would be submitted for servicing so allegations that prices of spare parts for broken down vehicles are inflated at the department were not true.
Pix of Laary Bimi, Chairman of NCCE