GBC, Information Quizzed Over Misappropriation At Volta Star

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament yesterday quizzed officials of the Ministry of Information and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) over the misappropriation of GH¢58,190 by an accounts officer at the Volta Star Radio from 2002 to December 2006.

The officer, Patrick Fumey, has been interdicted by the management of GBC and is presently facing prosecution at the Ho Circuit Court.

However, members of the committee expressed reservations about the fact that the Regional Accounts Officer, Mr Samuel Dziekpor, whose negligence was said to have caused the misappropriation of the said amount, had still not been sanctioned.

“The misappropriation of the revenue was due to the regional account officer’s negligence and failure to supervise the cashier over the years,” the report noted, and members of the PAC said in line with the laws on financial administration, Mr Dziekpor ought to have been sanctioned.

The Volta Regional Director of GBC, Mr Ralph Avornyo, explained to the committee that subsequent to the misappropriation of the said amount, Mr Dziekpor had demonstrated commitment to duty and had instilled discipline in financial administration in the region.

He added that since a copy of the report had also been sent to GBC headquarters, naturally he had expected that any disciplinary directive would have come from there.

However, the management of GBC explained that although the report had been sent to the Volta Regional Office, they received a copy just about two weeks ago.

The report also noted that 47 individuals and religious bodies owed the corporation GH¢57,246 as of December 31, 2006, adding that some of the indebtedness dated as far back as 2000.

A Deputy Minister of Information, Mr James Agyenim-Boateng, who represented the Minister, Mrs Zita Okaikoi, told the committee that the ministry had instituted internal control measures to address those challenges.

He explained that in the past such misappropriation of funds had gone undetected because there had been no segregation of roles.

He said duties had now been segregated to ensure that no single individual had full control, thereby ensuring that there were checks and balances.

Also appearing before the committee was the Deputy Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwasi Apea-Kubi, and a team of management members and officers from the Police Service, the Immigration Service, the Fire Service and the Prisons Service.

Key among the concerns raised were issues related to the suspension of projects estimated at GH¢1,702,000 by the Police Service Projects Unit.

The report noted that between 1999 and 2005 uncompleted projects totalling GH¢1,702,000 were abandoned and instead new projects amounting to GH¢1,856,485 started.

“Additionally, the new projects were not budgeted for in the respective periods, in contravention of Regulation 175 (2) FAR, 2004, which provides that new activities of an organisation should be introduced in the annual estimates,” the report said.

It said the failure of management to ensure continuity in the projects and programmes of the Police Service was due to every Police Administration’s eagerness to embark on new projects, despite inadequate budget allocations.

“The practice resulted in 40 per cent (or GH¢124, 000) escalation of original project costs from GH¢3,309,000 to GH¢4,657,000 as of June 2006,” it added.