Gomoa East Assembly Questioned Over GH¢80,000 Funeral Expenses

By Justice Dzido On Apr 24, 2018

The Gomoa East District Assembly in the Central Region, is yet to provide documents to auditors to support the payment of monies back into the state coffers, after over GHc80, 000 was expended from the Common Fund on the funeral of a former District Chief Executive [DCE] in 2015.

According to the 2015 Auditor General’s report, the budget for the funeral of the late DCE, Kingsley Ahunu-Armah, shot up from an initial GHc9, 000 to more than GHc80,000.

Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday in Takoradi in the Western Region, Accountant for the Assembly, Ebenezer Mensah, tried to justify the difference in expenditure.

Here is an interaction at the public hearing between Member of the Committee and MP for Ejura-Sekyedumase, Mohammed Braimah, and the Accountant for the Assembly.

Mohammed Braimah: On the IGF [Internally Generated Fund] they spent GHc21, 000 and they took GHc59, 000 from the IGF from the same expenditure and ended up spending about GHc81, 259, can you explain why?

Accountant: I think that the late Ahunu-Armah died while serving in office and for that matter some of the issues were treated as protocol, where president’s office represented, regional minister and the whole government entourage were represented, and that probably ballooned the initial project expenses.

Mohammed Braimah: Initially, you were to spend GHc9, 000 from the IGF and the IGF alone shot up to GHc21,709. Were you at post then?

Accountant: No please. I think it was only the budget officer who was then at post.

Mohammed Braimah: [The District Assembly] Common fund is for projects, why do you use it for funerals?

Accountant: I think that the Auditor General’s recommendation is that, monies spent from the common fund should be refunded from the IGF so the Assembly took steps to refund those monies spent on items or capital expenditures which otherwise have been taken care of by the common fund.

The Public Accounts Committee began sittings in the Western Region on Monday, April 23, 2018.

PAC scolds MMDAs over financial mismanagement

In February 2018, various state institutions incurred the wrath of the Public Accounts Committee for blatantly flouting the country’s financial regulations.

Members of the PAC raised serious concerns about the continuous mismanagement of resources disbursed to state institutions particularly the Regional Coordinating Councils, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.

The PAC, is chaired by Deputy Minority Leader, James Klutse Avedzie, and members of the committee raised the concern at a sitting in Tamale when they were reviewing the Auditor General’s 2015/2016 report of public institutions.

Source: Citinewsroom