Hold Ministers, Technocrats Responsible For Public Sector Malfeasance - MPs

Mr Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, Member of Parliament for Wa Central, on Tuesday said Ministers of state should be held responsible for the financial malfeasance that occurred in some institutions, which came to light during the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearings last year. He was contributing to the motion to adopt the Report of the PAC that the Ministers could not escape blame for the financial sleaze that the PAC exposed in Parliament. Mr Pelpuo said "The hearings gave us a message that we are not winning the war against corruption. What was found was just the tip of the iceberg and the Ministers cannot completely escape blame. They must take responsibility." The committee's hearings held late last year, exposed levels of graft in government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) as contained in the Auditor-General's Report on those institutions for the year 2004. The House adopted the motion of the Report of the Committee, moved by its Chairman, Mr Samuel Sallas-Mensah, MP for Upper West Akyem. The Report stated that various MDAs failed to account for a total amount of GH¢22.63 million and US$1.60 million "in respect of uncollected taxes, cash irregularities, outstanding loans, debts, fees, imprest, payroll and contract irregularities as at the end of 2004." As at the time of reporting, "an amount of 14.92 billion cedis (GHc1.492 million) and US$1.59 million had been accounted for leaving a balance of 223 billion cedis and US$15,544, an approximate figure of 26 billion cedis of the uncollected taxes were in respect of provisional corporate tax assessment by IRS." Mr Pelpuo said people found to have been involved in illegal financial practices must be made to face the full rigours of the law. He emphasized the need to provide proper oversight financial administration and called for more effective intelligent systems, as people who might cheat the government would adopt more sophisticated means. Mr Pelpuo said "We need to vote more money for effective public service and give civic responsibility training to people who holds monies on behalf of the state." Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, a Member of the PAC and Deputy Minority Leader, disagreed with Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, former Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing that prosecution was equal to passing judgement against those with adverse findings. Mr Owusu-Agyeman had said any such prosecution should be investigated first in due process, but Mr Adjaho said it was necessary to hold both ministers and technocrats culpable in different cases of financial impropriety. Mr Adjaho cited that a one-billion-cedis case involving a technocrat at a ministry could not have occurred without the authorization of the head of the ministry who eventually was a Minister. Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister for Finance and Economic Planning urged the courts to act expeditiously on cases of malfeasance for which the PAC recommended prosecution.