A citizens’ group – Coalition for Democratic Accountability and Inclusive Governance is demanding immediate action from the Auditor General in exercising his powers to protect the public purse.
The Coalition is angry that the Auditor General has failed to take action against persons implicated in the 2019 and 2020 audit reports.
The Auditor General released its 2021 report on Tuesday, but the Coalition is dissatisfied that no action has been taken on the previous reports.
The Director of Advocacy and Policy Engagement at CDD-Ghana, a member of the Coalition, Dr. Kojo Asante, tells Citi News that they will sustain public pressure on the Auditor General until action is taken.
“We are going to picket at the Auditor General’s Office on Monday, and we are entreating Ghanaians to join us. We have to start insisting that the right thing is done if we are really serious about protecting the public purse and fighting corruption. It doesn’t have to be about paying lip service, and we are going to put pressure if we don’t get answers and then advise ourselves on what next course of action to take”, he said.
In the report, the Auditor General cited 19 past and current judges of Ghana’s superior courts for acquiring state vehicles – a move that contravenes Regulation 158 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378).
Among other things, the audit showed that lapses in the management of public finances led to losses of GH¢1,080,913,824 in 2021 by Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
These financial irregularities, the Coalition for Democratic Accountability and Inclusive Governance maintain, cannot be allowed to fester.
“The reason we are angry is that, there is a clear determination of misappropriation of funds, yet we have not seen the Auditor General exercising his powers of surcharging disallowances. There is no basis why these surcharges and disallowances should not be applied because that is the only way to discipline people so when people are doing these kinds of things, they are wary that they are going to be held responsible if they do not follow the rules.”
Source: Citinewsroom.com