The Chairman of Public Accounts Committee of Parliament and MP for Ketu North, Hon. James Klutse Avedzi has instructed that, management of Gomoa East Assembly, be surcharged for their inability to produce an HP Laptop and five boxes of rainboots for audit inspection.
According to the Auditors, the HP Laptop which was purchased in November, 2018 at the cost of Ghc, 3,980.00 was later issued to the Head of Budget without relevant documentation whiles the five boxes of rainboots with an estimated value of Seven Thousand Two Hundred Ghana Cedis supplied to the Assembly by the Regional Coordinating Council were also missing.
The PAC Chairman made the statement during the Committee’s ongoing investigations into the Auditor-general’s report for the year ended, 2023 at Takoradi, where Municipal and District Assemblies, Technical Universities, Colleges of Education, Senior High Schools have been cited for various degrees of infractions.
However, the Assembly authorities told the Committee that the issue has since been reported to the police for investigation. Again the Assemblies opined that the stores at the Assembly are not big enough to contain all the items, compelling them to be kept in the premises.
PAC has instructed that the items be paid for in the next two weeks. The Chairman said “I can assure you that reporting the issue to the Police will not get us anywhere, but the Head of Budget must be surcharged for the loss of the Laptop.” “ So we are surcharging the Head of Budget.”
The PAC public hearing in Takoradi, the Western Regional Capital is scheduled to end today.