Deputy Minister of Tourism, Kobby Acheampong, is calling on his own government to embark on a radical action in dealing with issues of financial irregularities raised in the 2009 Auditor General’s report on public accounts of Ghana.
The 2009 Auditor-General’s Report reveals that the country lost more than GH¢2.5 billion as a result of financial irregularities in the various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
The report has been received with lots of criticisms and concerns.
The Committee for Joint Action (CJA), in a news conference on Thursday, January 27 bemoaned the inaction of government in plugging the loopholes that makes it possible for corrupt officials to loot the state of various sums of money. The group is also not happy that the corrupt activities and the irregularities identified in the report have been recurring over the years without action on the part of government.
Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show, Mr. Acheampong said there would be a significant reduction in financial irregularities and misappropriation of public funds if culprits were severely punished. He believes the Auditor-General’s report is sometimes disregarded because people who reportedly embezzled government funds are allowed to go scot-free.
“I understand the frustration these people are going through because if reports are channeled out daily and no action is taken on them, we basically demoralized the people who are working on some of these things. As far as I am concerned, I think we need to do something that has never being done in this country and it has to be radical,” he emphasized.
He said the frequent reported cases of maladministration and financial malfeasances contained in the Auditor-General’s report is a clear manifestation of national failure, and suggested that a special court be set up to deal solely with issues on Public accounts.
“…if government begins to jail people who mishandle public funds; people will start taking things serious,” he observed.
Vice President of FIDA International who was also on the same programme, Ursula Owusu, also blamed the fund misappropriation on systematic deficiencies. According to her, people are taking advantage of the lapses in the system to deprive the state of the much needed funds.
“Some people are taking advantage of these lapses and depriving the state of needed revenue, this is not about ministers of state or whichever government is in power. It is about the institutions we have and the lapses or the deficiencies in there which some of those who work in those institutions have identified and are using for their personal benefit as against the benefit of the state,” she noted.