Government says special courts will soon be designated to handle cases arising from audit infractions captured in the Auditor-General’s Report.
These courts will focus on enforcing surcharges and disallowances, as well as prosecuting related criminal offences.
The decision follows a high-level meeting between President John Dramani Mahama, the Chief Justice, the Attorney-General, and the Auditor-General to explore measures to strengthen the enforcement of findings contained in the Auditor-General’s reports.
The meeting fulfills a promise the President made days earlier at a conference in Ho, where he expressed frustration over the persistent mismanagement of public funds highlighted annually in the reports.
“When you leave office, you must be able to hold your head high, wake up in the morning and not fear being called to account for wrongdoing because you did things the right way,” the President said.
He described the recurring revelations before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) as “pathetic,” citing “recklessness with public funds and resources.”
“Until there’s a deterrent, we’ll keep seeing these infractions every year. Persons found guilty of causing financial loss or breaching procedure must face swift consequences. We must have a fast-track process, before you know it, you’re in Nsawam. If we save even 15 billion cedis, imagine what that could do for the country,” he added.
President Mahama also lamented the weak functioning of Audit Report Implementation Committees (ARICs), which are mandated to ensure that recommendations from the Auditor-General’s reports are carried out.
He said despite regular PAC hearings, very little follow-up action is taken, allowing financial irregularities to persist.
“Virtually nobody follows up on the recommendations that come out of the PAC. The Audit Report Implementation Committees are not working effectively. We must create a system that holds people accountable so others are deterred,” the President stressed.
He expressed optimism that the new measures, including the establishment of special courts, would help ensure accountability and improve public financial management.
SOURCE: JoyNews
