General News of Wednesday, 9 August 2017
Source: Starrfmonline.com
2017-08-09
Former President John Mahama and his Cabinet members
The Controller and Accountant General is unable to account for total proceeds of the 10% salary cuts of the appointees of former President John Mahama.
The revelation is contained in the Auditor General’s 2016 performance report on the Finance Ministry and Controller and Accountant General.
Former President Mahama and his vice, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, as well as all Ministers of state, under his administration voluntarily took a 10 percent pay cut beginning 2014.
The move was among many austerity measures taken by the then administration to save money for the economy.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee of parliament Wednesday August 9, 2017, the Controller and Accountant General Eugene Ofusuhene disclosed that a letter from the chief of Staff asked for the transfer of the money in 2014.
As a result, his office is unable to account for the monies accrued afterwards, he added.
He said “…the monies are later on released to them [government]. That is how we operate. So as to what they have done with the money that one is not an area for us to answer because it was not statutory deductions which we should have taken and then say pay to SNNIT or pay to GRA. This one was a voluntary deductions so when you deduct you give it to the one who asked you to deduct on his behalf.”
