Accra, June 1, GNA - The Parliamentary Service Board (PSB), has expressed regret about the conduct of former Speaker Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi Hughes, in relation to the disposal of the furnishing in his official residence, without proper authority.

A statement issued in Accra by the Public Affairs Department of Parliament, said there was absolutely no policy for the disposal of the items for any of the beneficiaries.

It said the PSB decided that "the former Speaker should return all the items to the official residence within 10 days to conclude this regrettable matter".

Below is the full text:

"At its first meeting held on Thursday, 12th March, 2009 at the Sir Charles Emmanuel Quist Conference Room, Accra, the attention of the Parliamenta~ Service Board was drawn to soft and hard furnishing items worth millions of cedis reportedly taken from the official residence of the Speaker of Parliament in Cantonments, Accra.

"The Board consequently requested the former Speaker to furnish it with the whereabouts of the items but received evasive responses. The Board, committed to getting to the bottom of the matter scheduled an emergency meeting for Tuesday, 26th May, 2009 at 2 00 p.m. Before the meeting could commence, a letter dated 25th May, 2009 from Zoe, Atta Akyea & Co. and addressed to the Secretary of the Parliamentary Service Board on the whereabouts of the furnishing items was received. The letter, which is purportedly a further response to the request of the Board, had been widely circulated and discussed in both the print and electronic media.

"Indeed the letter stated the former Speaker's willingness to return the items he took from the official residence of the Speaker and explained that he took the items on a bona fide claim of right. "The Board is also aware of several allusions of the former Speaker and other commentators about payments made to leadership for non-procured soft furnishing items, and an alleged existing convention, which allows leadership and senior management staff of the parliamentary Service to retain soft furnishing items on leaving office.

"The Board after a painstaking investigation wishes to clear the air and also correct some distortions raised by the solicitors of the former Speaker in their letter, "The parliamentary Service keeps records of all items delivered to the households of the Speaker and members of leadership. The existing practice is that every item is issued through the Stores whilst the Development Department delivers them to their intended destination. It is mandatory for both the Stores and the Development Department to keep inventory of all items.

"On appointment as the Speaker of the Fourth Parliament of the Fourth Republic on 7th January, 2005, the former government decided to temporarily accommodate Speaker Sekyi Hughes in the State House VIP Apartment while the permanent residence for the Speaker was being constructed. The Development Department was therefore tasked with the responsibility to put the official residence in good shape to befit the status of the Speaker. Basic renovation works were carried out since the building had not been used for some time, "These works, which included some electrical re-wiring, replacement of sanitary fittings, provision of kitchen cabinets, painting, provision of curtains, etc were carried out through the State Protocol and the Public Works Department (Prestige Unit) at the expense of the Parliamentary Service.

"The State house building was furnished in February 2005 with beds, dining tables, terrace chairs and tables, lounge furniture for living and family areas. These items were purchased from Messrs Peewood, Furnart and Mobilia. A Sony 'giant' television set, a freezer, a refrigerator and a gas cooker were also bought from Messrs, Novotec. "Rt. Hon, Ebenezer B. Sekyi Hughes was the first occupant of the new permanent official residence of the Speaker at Cantonments, Accra. Speaker Hughes moved into the official residence in late December, 2006 just before Christmas. The Speaker had by then spent almost two years of his four-year term living in the State House, In reality, the former Speaker stayed in the permanent official residence for almost two years, a time too short to underscore the point that some of the items might have suffered any appreciable wear and tear.

"Furthermore no complaint was made by Speaker Sekyi Hughes as to whether items ordered to be supplied for his official use were not supplied or delivered. The immediate past Clerk, Mr. K.E.K. Tachie did not present any report to the contrary.

"It is a fact that Speaker Sekyi Hughes travelled extensively whilst in office as indicated in his submission, However, the official residence was at all times under 24-hour security surveillance by both the Parliamentary Security Guards and personnel of the Ghana police Service (Parliamentary police Unit). The Residence is also equipped with security cameras to check intrusion/burglary or pilfering. On no occasion was there a report of burglary or pilfering in the Speaker's Residence.

"The Office indeed conducted inspection on the 3rd of March, 2009 after the former Speaker vacated the premises. Although the former Speaker alleged he left on 26th February, 2009, the Building was and is still under surveillance. The guards (both Police and Parliamentary Staff) were at post when all the items were carried away. "The Speaker of the First and Second Parliaments of the Fourth Republic, the late Rt. Hon. Justice Daniel Francis Annan, lived in a public residence. Items supplied for his official use were returned on leaving office.

"The Speaker of the Third Parliament of the Fourth Republic, the late Rt. Hon. Peter Ala Adjetey lived in his private residence throughout his tenure as Speaker and was supplied with a few items. Upon retirement, rent for which he would have benefited for living in his private residence instead of the official residence was refused him on the basis of the cost of the items supplied.

"Two former Clerks to Parliament, Messrs Samuel Ntim Darkwa and Rex Owusu-Ansah lived in government bungalows but were not officially supplied with any furnishing items and could not have gone with anything official. Indeed, it was the immediate past Clerk to Parliament, Mr. K.E.K. Tachie who has six year old sitting room furnishes and beds in his possession, "On the assertion that One Hundred and Ninety-Five Thousand, Two Hundred Ghana Cedis (GH¢195,200.00) was approved and paid by the Board of the Fourth Parliament to leadership for furnishing items not procured for them, it must be clearly stated that even though the Board approved payment, nothing was paid as alleged, This is because the Clerk expressed difficulty in implementing the decision since the amount in question was not captured in the 2008 Budget for the Office of Parliament.

"The Parliamentary Service Board wishes to reiterate that no such payment has been made till date. The Board also wishes to succinctly state that aside the leadership, the Clerk was requested at the said meeting to confer with the then Chairman of the Board, Rt. Hon. Ebenezer B. Sekyi Hughes to discuss the non-procured items and other related matters affecting the Chairman. There was, however, no discussion with the former Speaker as directed.

"As regards the recommendations contained in an alleged Review Report submitted by Parliament to the Presidency on the free 4-Bedroom plus an Outhouse for the Speaker in retirement, the Clerk-to-Parliament has stated that he is not aware of and has not sighted the said report. "There is absolutely no policy for disposal of the items for any of the beneficiaries. The Parliamentary Service Hoard regrets the conduct of former Speaker Ebenezer B. Sekyi Hughes in relation to the issue on the furnishing and disposal of same without proper authority. The Board decided that the former Speaker should return all the items to the official residence of the Speaker within ten days to enable the Board to conclude this regrettable matter." End full text