Officials of Agona West District Assembly taking their turn
Members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, chaired by Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, last Wednesday performed their parliamentary duties outside the confines of the august House.
About 14 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Central Region appeared before the Committee over alleged malfeasance in public financial management.
The PAC, which is one of the 11 standing committees of parliament, has been constituted to examine audited accounts of public institutions and see how the subventions given to them (institutions) were utilized.
It has also been empowered to institute investigation into any financial misconduct with the view of preventing fraudulent, inefficient application of public resources.
The MMDAs that appeared before the Committee included Asikuma Odoben Brakwa, Agona East, Agona West, Gomoa East, Gomoa West, Upper Denkyira West, Upper Denkyira East and Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly.
The rest were Assin North, Assin South, Twifo Heman Lower Denkyira, Upper Denkyira Municipal, Twifo Atti-Morkwa and Ekumfi.
The Auditor-General’s Report for the PAC’s sitting in Takoradi covered the period for the year ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Members of PAC also considered the management and utilization of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) and other statutory funds for the year ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Opening the three-day sitting at a brief ceremony, the Deputy Western Regional Minister, Alfred Ekow Gyan, was not happy that some public institutions in the country breached government directives on the collection and utilization of public funds.
‘In some cases these practices are orchestrated with the connivance of some government officials or public servants’, he asserted.
He urged the management of the MMDAs not to see the exercise as witch hunting but a necessary tool to ensure transparency and accountability.
‘Heads of public institutions should therefore not hesitate in contacting the office for the necessary assistance when the need arises’, he added.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takorad
This article has 0 comment, leave your comment.