Interior Ministry Blows Over GH₵26,000 on Private Security

The Ministry of Interior has justified the spending of over Ghc 26,000 on the provision of internal security at the ministry.

The 2016 Auditor General’s report indicted the Ministry for spending that amount on the services of a private security firm instead of using personnel from the Ghana Police Service.

The said firm, Magnum Force Security, was paid the amount in a move that was described as a drain on the ministry’s resources by the Auditor General.

But appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Ambrose Dery, the Interior Minister, said the decision was justifiable.

“If you take two members of the Ghana Police Service to be within the ministry to perform these petty roles, I daresay it will be an under-utilization of an essential and limited resource.”

He said his outfit had to resort to private security services to free up police officers to undertake other critical policing activities for the state.

“We cannot have an armed policeman to make sure the doors are closed….you may want to think of Ghc 26,000 being an extra cost”.

“If you want to see the cost of having two police officers there, you need to deal with the opportunity cost,” he noted.

PAC Sitting

The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament on Monday, August 13, 2018, commenced sitting to look into the Auditor General’s Report on activities of state institutions for the year 2016.

The Committee is considering reports on the Consolidated Fund as well as that of some Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs.

The Committee is sitting for a week.

The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, James Klutse Avedzi, told Citi News members will also check compliance of earlier directives to institutions who in previous reports had been cited for various infractions.

“We expect that the Ministries will appear and respond favorably for having taken action on those infractions cited in the report of the Auditor General. Those that no actions have been taken, then the committee will then consider and recommend punishment as prescribed by law,” he said.

Financial mismanagement from MMDAs

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

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

Source: Citifmonline