Parliament is tightening oversight on public sector accountability as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has referred 12 state institutions to the Attorney General (AG) for prosecution after they failed to recover funds flagged by the Auditor-General.
The decision follows the institutions’ non-compliance with a 30-day directive to retrieve monies cited in the Auditor-General’s report. During the committee’s sitting on November 3, PAC reiterated its commitment to ensuring that public officials are held accountable for financial irregularities.
Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem Member of Parliament and PAC Ranking Member, Samuel Atta-Mills, emphasized that institutions that disregarded the committee’s instructions have left the committee with no choice but to escalate the matter to the AG’s office. He explained that while some entities were granted extensions of 60 to 90 days, those who ignored the initial 30-day ultimatum must now face legal consequences.
Assistant Auditor-General Michael Addo disclosed that the institutions involved failed to recover funds lost through unearned salaries, unretired imprests, and unjustified expenditures. This failure, he noted, triggered a constitutional requirement for referral to the Attorney General for possible prosecution.
The amounts involved are believed to total tens of millions of Ghana cedis. Notably, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and Ridge Hospital are among the 12 entities cited in the committee’s submission to the Attorney General.
This move underscores Parliament’s determination to ensure that audit findings lead to concrete accountability actions, in line with the Public Financial Management Act, which seeks to safeguard the public purse.
The Attorney General’s office is expected to review the evidence presented and commence legal proceedings against officials found culpable.
Source: MyNewsGh.com
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
0 Comments