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[ 2014-10-21 ] 
Wenchi Municipal Assembly blows GH₵38,000 on funerals;GH₵48m common funds missing
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament
has revealed that Metropolitan, Municipal and
District Assemblies in the Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo
Regions had failed to account for GH₵48.43
million of statutory funds for utilisation at
their respective areas.
Chairman of PAC, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, who made the
revelation, said this was contained in an Auditor
General's report on management and utilisation of
District Assemblies Common Funds (DACFs) and other
statutory funds for the year 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Speaking at a sitting of the committee in Kumasi
yesterday, the PAC chairman indicated the
frustration of the committee's members, noting
that "the assemblies continue to violate rules,
procedures and legal requirement in the
administration of funds."
According to him, the Auditor General's Department
had established a pattern with which the
assemblies mismanage public funds for development,
and pointed to deficiencies in using internal
controls to monitor these activities.
He called on managers at the various assemblies
to resolve to do better and develop the culture of
applying funds to the intended purposes.
Sanction
Alhaji Ibrahim Dey Abubakari, Ranking Member of
PAC, lamented a litany of violations of the
financial regulations by the assemblies, and
hinted of the committee's resolve to recommend
sanctions and punishment for officers flouting
regulations with impunity.
"We've realized that preaching alone does not
solve the problem and it is our resolve to push
for punishment against recalcitrant officers of
the assemblies," he asserted.
This, in his view, would ensure that improper
records keeping, omissions, violation of
financial regulations and lack of documentation
were not repeated in future.
"It will be a complete surcharge against any
assembly's officer who fails to provide
documentation for the utilisation and management
of funds," Alhaji Abubakari, together with the
chairman of the committee, sternly warned.
Other members of PAC took issues with
non-retirement of imprests granted to some
Metropolitan/-Municipal/District Chief
Executives by the Finance Officers.
GH₵38,000 On Funeral
The committee was not happy that the Wenchi
Municipal Assembly blew as much as GH₵38,000
of DACF on funerals, donations and honorariums
instead of Internally Generated Fund (IGF) and
charged the MCE, Municipal Coordinating Director
and Municipal Finance Officer to pay back the
money.
Concerns were also raised about the failure of the
assembly officers to keep proper records
containing details of receipts covering payments. Source - MyjoyOnline
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