Alleged Misappropriation Of GETFunds At Ho Poly

Investigations revealed that on February 10, 2004, Ho Polytechnic received ¢755 million for Faculty Development and the provision of a Research Facility. Since there was no special account for the GETFund the money was lodged in the general account.

It was found that the money was misapplied as follows:

£was paid to the University of Leeds in the UK and ¢20million paid to Mr Franklin Degboe, a lecturer at the Polytechnic to facilitate his education in the UK. Mr Degboe was however refused an Entry Visa by the British High Commission. An order has been directed to the Principal of the Polytechnic to ensure that the monies are refunded.

Over-payment for Rehabilitation of Guest House. Out of the total cost of ¢333,618,750.00 budgeted for the Rehabilitation of Bungalow No. 4 to be used as a Guest House it was found that ¢276,298,125.00 had been paid, when only about 50% of the work that had been executed. (About 32% over payment). Money had been paid for work, which had not been done and the execution of the project was far behind schedule.

The investigation age continuing. Purchase of Official Vehicle. Even though the school has a Toyota Corona and a new Jeep Cherokee for the principal, the management of the school purchased another Toyota Avensis at the cost of ¢282,980,500.00 in 2004. The purchase of the vehicle appears to be the result of misplaced priorities.

With regards to the GETFund, the Zonal Office has further been directed to supervise the opening of a separate account for the fund to make for effective monitoring and to curtail further abuses.