Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday, July 06, 2021 grilled Ghana Education Service for selling some vehicles below market value.
At the meeting, it was revealed that Adidome GES Office sold two Mitsubishi Pick-Up vehicles by auction for GH₵1,900.
According to the committee, the two pick-Ups was sold without any vital document to determine whether or not the vehicles should be sold and without inspection by the State Transport Company (STC).
The Adidome GES District Office is said to have colluded with a private auctioneer to auction the two vehicles to its own staff at very low prices.
Members of the appointments committee strongly condemned the deal, prompting officials of Ghana Education Service to apologise for not following laid-down procedures in auctioning the vehicles.
The Public Accounts Committee also discovered that Ten new laptops could not also be accounted for at Bechem District GES office.
Unsupported payments totalling GHS 432.800 were uncovered at 16 District offices while tenants on the premises of two institutions defaulted in their rent payment ranging between 24 and 76 months to the tune of GHS 18,030.00
The Report further noted that 43 separated staff were paid unearned salary of GHS 215,977.95 while 137 Private Schools operating within the Ga South Municipal Education Office defaulted in paying their license fees amounting to GHS 32,280.00.
In his remarks, the PAC Chairman James Klutse Avedzi said the Committee will submit its recommendations to the House and recommend sanctions for MDAs that failed to account for public funds and public officials that refuse to account for public funds at their disposal for them to be shown the way out of office.
He said one of the major responsibilities of the PAC is to hold the MDAs to account since whoever is given the responsibility and the trust of running any agency with public funds must be accountable to Parliament on behalf of the people.
The Committee, he emphasized, will insist that any public servant or civil servant that is given public funds for public good and has questions to answer and refuse to answer satisfactorily should have no business being in government.
