It has emerged that Metropolitan, Municipal and District
Assemblies (MMDAs) in the three regions of the North spent about 21 million
Ghana cedis of the District Assembly Common Fund and other statutory funds
without proper documentation. The Upper West Region alone spent 63 percent of
state funds meant for development projects without due regard to laid down financial regulations. These revelations were brought to
the fore at the beginning of the Public Accounts
Committee (PAC) three days sitting in Tamale. The Wa Municipal Assembly for
instance, spent 19, 656 cedis without supporting documents or receipts.
These were captured on the Auditor Generals Department query from 2010 to 2012.
Acting Chairman of the PAC, Hon. Robert Sarfo Mensah recommended the prosecution
of all duty bearers at the various MMDAs who will be found culpable of
misappropriating public funds. He insisted that Chief Executives of the various
MMDAs and their District Finance Officers as well as Coordinating Directors
should be sanctioned for spending public funds which have been unaccounted for.
He asked the Wa East district assembly to make available to the PAC, receipts
and other valid documents covering monies spent by the assembly by today.
Hon. Robert Sarfo Mensah said the entire district assembly will be surcharged
if they fail to produce the relevant documents. A ranking member of PAC who
doubles as Member of Parliament for Salaga South, Hon. Ibrahim Dey
Abubakari described as “totally unacceptable the wanton disbursement of public
funds without recourse to the Public Procurement Order.” Members of the PAC
were unimpressed with responses from the assemblies who appeared before it on
the first day. District Chief Executive for Wa East and his administrators were
turned away to go and put their house in order and reappear. Wa Central, Wa
East, Wa West, Sisala East, Sisala West, Nadowli and Lawra all in the Upper
West Region appeared before the PAC members.
Source:Citifmonline.com
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