Northern Regional Births and Deaths director hot over GH¢71,000 withdrawals

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed the Northern Regional Director of the Births and Deaths Registry to appear before it to account for withdrawals totalling GH¢71,300 that were allegedly made without payment vouchers and the required supporting documentation.

The transactions, which took place between March 12, 2024, and October 22, 2025, came under scrutiny on Tuesday, October 6, when agencies under the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs appeared before the Committee.

Among the transactions flagged by the PAC were withdrawals of GH¢15,800 and GH¢18,000, with members expressing concern over the failure to produce the necessary documents to justify the expenditure.

The Registrar of the Births and Deaths Registry, Samuel Adom Botchway, was questioned about the circumstances surrounding the withdrawals and measures taken to ensure that the Registry complied with established financial procedures.

Mr Botchway told the Committee that the outstanding documentation had subsequently been addressed through payment vouchers and memoranda submitted for approval.

However, the explanation did not satisfy the Committee, which stressed that producing documents after public funds had already been withdrawn did not resolve the issue of whether the required procedures had been followed before the transactions were carried out.

PAC Chairperson Abena Osei Asare subsequently directed Mr Botchway to appear before the Committee with the Northern Regional Director by Friday to provide further explanations on the transactions.

“So we will step it down for now. We sit from today to the 20th. We’ll give you up to Friday for him to come with you and discharge his mandate,” she said.

Mr Botchway apologised to the Committee and agreed to bring the Regional Director before the PAC to respond to the concerns raised over the withdrawals.