A vice president of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has leveled accusations against the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana (EC), alleging that it is discarding election equipment valued at over $150 million.According to Simons, the equipment, which includes biometric devices, is still in excellent condition but is being discarded to facilitate the procurement of new ones by the EC.

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Making these claims through a series of posts shared on X on Sunday, April 21, 2024, the IMANI vice president noted that his organization previously raised concerns about the EC's intention to procure new equipment with the decision to compile a new voters register, but these concerns were disregarded.

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“The Auditor General REFUSED to conduct an asset audit of the existing EC biometric voting equipment to settle the issue of whether the country needed to spend $150m on new devices given the 1000s in stock of good condition.

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Finally, those devices have surfaced!“After waiting for us to 'forget' about the issue, the EC has quietly sneaked out the 1000s of devices purchased from 2016 to 2020 to a plant to "recycle" for cheap plastics & metals at a massive loss of millions of dollars! The IMF & World Bank subsidise this conduct!.

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“To throw away $150 million or so of equipment, many in perfect working condition, without a proper asset audit, just so you can push through fresh procurement is SHAMEFUL & the clear reason why Ghana eventually went bankrupt & went to the IMF, which seems happy condoning this,” he added.

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Mr Simons revealed that the EC has relocated the equipment used during the 2020 election to a warehouse, where they will be processed as scraps after the Auditor General failed to conduct an asset audit to determine the necessity of procuring new equipment.He further criticized the EC's actions, labeling them as emblematic of the wastefulness within Ghana's political system, which he finds alarming.

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Mr Simons also shared images of the purported equipment stored in a warehouse.3/After waiting for us to "forget" about the issue, the EC has quietly sneaked out the 1000s of devices purchased from 2016 to 2020 to a plant to "recycle" for cheap plastics & metals at a massive loss of millions of dollars! The IMF & World Bank subsidise this conduct! pic.twitter.

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com/mq1uIBPGVl— Bright Simons (@BBSimons) April 21, 2024

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