Dr Serebour Quaicoe, Director of Electoral Services at Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC), has stated that the commission’s decision to auction obsolete Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) was legally done.
In an exclusive interview on Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia hosted by Kwame Nkrumah Tikese on May 8, Dr. Quaicoe stated that, the BVDs that were auctioned had no data on them, therefore there was a need to auction them in order to create space at the commission.
His statement came at the back of a petition presented to CHRAJ by IMANI Center for Policy and Education has calling for an immediate investigation into the auctioning of the BVDs following the discovery of 10 BVDs at a recycling facility in Madina.
In an earlier response by the commission explaining the actual state of the auctioned BVDs, Franklin Cudjoe, President of IMANI Africa, argues that such actions constitute wastage and misappropriation of state resources, thus, needed an urgent investigation into the dealings of the commission.
But the EC held firmly to its stance that it followed the correct laid down rules in disposing of these BVDs.
“I want to put on record that the BVDs and BVRs were those which were used before 2020, we acquired new ones. So, once we acquired new ones, these ones were obsolete, we’re not using them. They were still occupying space, so the Commission wrote to the district valuer, STC, they did the evaluation of all the materials, and we have documentation to that effect.
“We sent letters to the Ministry of Finance seeking permission to dispose of. They also replied and gave us the permission to go ahead. The Commission interviewed six auctioneers and one of them was picked. And a little recycling company bought them located at Oyarifa, they have EPA approval to do all those things. The auctioneer advertised it, look for February 1, 2024, Daily Graphic," he revealed.
Touching on how the equipment were auctioned, Dr. Quaicoe said, “They did interviews and the auctioneers auctioned the items. All the money generated was paid into the Consolidated Fund. We went through the legal means.”
According to Dr. Quaicoe, the commission is not worried about the brouhaha surrounding the auctioneering because they have not committed any offence.
“We’re not worried because we have not committed any offence. The documents are there.”
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