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James Avedzi, President of PAC
Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) should be given the power to take immediate action against those named in the Auditor General’s report for embezzlement or embezzlement of public funds, said James Avedzi, chairman of the PAC.
Mr Avedzi, who is also an MP for Ketu North, expressed concern over the continued disregard for PFM laws, saying, “So these are the problems we have and this is why we said that the PAC should be given more power so that we can take action against some of these things to deter the rest of the population. “
He was speaking to reporters in Tamale on Monday at the start of a week-long session of PAC members to review the 2017 Auditor General’s report of selected public institutions in the North, Northeast, Savannah, and ‘Upper East and Upper West. Regions.
Four reports of the Auditor General considered during the meeting included reports of technical universities and polytechnics, report of pre-higher education institutions, report of metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (management and use of common fund district assemblies and the Fund and other accounts).
As usual, some of the reports were filled with cash, rent, store, contract and tax irregularities issues.
Mr. Avedzi said: “It becomes worrying that with the issues that are repeatedly pointed out and the recommendations made by the Auditor General, some institutions seem to follow the recommendations, but they also continue to have the same breaches in the report. “
He said: “This is a worrying trend that we are all fighting against. We probably don’t bite too hard. You can also clearly see that most of them come to the committee to lie because their representations are not really what happened on the ground.
He spoke of the powers of the PAC to tackle the irregularities contained in the Auditor General’s report, stating as it stands: “The PAC can only make recommendations to the House and when the House approves our recommendations, it returns to the various institutions cited for the implementation of the recommendations.
He added: “For example, these issues arose in 2017. We are now looking at them in 2021 simply because we have a backlog of reports that we are working on.
Now when we see these things, and it becomes very clear that an officer is not telling the truth to the Committee, we don’t have much power but to recommend that that person be prosecuted or punished in some way or another and that recommendation will be contained in our report, which will also take some time before the House approves it.
But if we have the powers as a PAC and something of that nature happens, we can even recommend that that person be locked up by the police. “
Mr Avedzi said: “The best we can do now is ask the person to write a statement and then the executive takes over. But if we have the power to recommend that someone not only make a statement but be locked away until that person is released on bail and the conditions for bail are met, then immediately the executive supports the person can be sued.
If we have that power and we can have one, two, three of those powers, you will clearly see that the officers who appear before the committee will stand up and do the right thing.
He said: “We will recommend in the report to Parliament that the Committee be given such powers. We are sure that we are bringing in a private member’s bill to give such powers to the committee. “
PAC ranking member Kofi Okyere Agyekum said there was a need to sanction those who engaged in embezzlement and embezzlement of public funds as well as recover funds for the state.
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