The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has referred the management of the E.P College of Education at Bimbila in the Northern Region to the Attorney-General’s Department for possible prosecution over financial irregularities involving more than GH¢1.3 million.
The decision follows findings from the 2024 Auditor-General’s Report, which revealed that the college made several payments without providing the required supporting documents to substantiate the transactions.
According to the committee, the infractions related to unsupported payments totalled GH¢1,356,944, covering expenditures such as foodstuffs, building materials for water projects, stationery for publicity activities and costs associated with an internal review exercise at a hotel.
Refund
In a related development, the committee directed the Nanumba South District Assembly to refund GH¢19,772 for fuel purchases made without receipts within 30 days.
The committee stressed that the refund must be made from the personal resources of the officials involved and not from the Assembly’s Internally Generated Funds (IGF).
Warning
At a public hearing in Tamale to consider the 2024 Auditor General’s Report, the Vice Chairman of PAC, Samuel Atta-Mills, expressed displeasure with the college’s management’s failure to provide the necessary documentation to support the expenditures, describing the situation as unacceptable and a serious breach of financial regulations.
He stressed that such lapses undermined accountability and transparency in the management of public funds. He warned that the committee would not hesitate to recommend sanctions against institutions that fail to comply with financial management rules.
“The infraction is unsupported payments to the tune of GH¢1,356,944. We noted that management made payments exceeding one million cedis but could not provide the relevant receipts to authenticate them,” he stated.
Sanctions
For her part, the Chairperson of the committee, Abena Osei-Asare, indicated that institutions found to have violated financial regulations, particularly procurement breaches, would face strict sanctions, including prosecution.
She explained that failure to provide supporting documents for expenditures constituted a breach of public financial management regulations and undermined accountability.
“When it comes to procurement issues, we will not sit and deliberate on them; we will refer such cases directly to the Attorney-General to take action,” she said, adding that taxpayers expected transparency and prudent financial management.
In response to the concerns, the Finance Officer of the college, Fuseini Osman, attributed the inability to provide certain receipts to difficulties in retrieving them from suppliers, some of whom were either out of the country or located far from the institution.
He added that although some receipts had been submitted, auditors and the committee raised concerns about the timing of their issuance.
Also, officials of the Nanumba South District Assembly explained that some of the fuel purchases were made for vehicles operating outside the assembly but rendering services to it.
The PAC has begun four-day zonal public hearings held in Tamale to examine financial irregularities cited in the 2024 Auditor-General’s Report.
The committee is considering the management and utilisation of the District Assemblies Common Fund and Internally Generated Funds (IGF) for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Northern, North East, Savannah, Upper East and Upper West regions.
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