"Stop patronizing the services of "Goro Boys'" - Amegashie

Accra, Aug 19, GNA- Public Account Committee(PAC) on Friday ended its extraordinary sitting with an advise to the public not to patronize the services of agents in the acquisition of a driver's license.

Mr Justice Amegashie made the call when Ministry of Roads and Highways= , the ministry which supervises the Ghana Drivers and Licensing Authority (DVLA) appeared before PAC to give account of state resources invested into their operations.

He said citizens who engaged the services of such agents otherwise called 93Goro Boys" should be assured of the issuance of fake documents which according to him was a threat to the nation. He announced that the system at the DVLA would soon be automated to solve the problem of delays. According to Mr Amegashie, those who engaged the services of 93Goro Boys" were not responsible adding, 93if you are responsible, you will go= to where the service is provided." Mr Robert Sarfo-Mensah, Member for Asunafo North who raised the issue, said the emergence of the 93Goro Boys" was because of the obstacles put on the way of customers making it impossible for most of them to access the services of the DVLA on time.

The committee was critical on two issues in the Auditor General's Report of the Department of Feeder Roads Greater Accra region. The first was their inability to account fully for the proceeds from the sale of tender documents and auction sale which amounted to 33,092 cedi= s which the accountant Mr John Nyaunu was said to have embezzled. According to the Auditor General's report, he was found culpable and was interdicted and the matter referred to the Ministries Police. The report had it that police investigation into the case was almost complete for the culprit to be arraigned but needed further clarification t= o strengthen the case and as at when that was done, the matter would be sent to the court.

However, Mr Nyaunu continued drawing 50 per cent of his monthly salary but no recovery had been made since, according to the report. The second issue was the theft of eight Honda motorbikes with crash helmets from the store of Feeder Roads Department of the Ministry of Roads and Highways worth 31,240.00 cedis. The matter which was reported to the police after a three man investigation team failed to identify the culprit and the delay in handling the matter at the Ministries Police Station surcharged the three store keepers. The committee rebuked the Acting Chief Director Mr Peter Dagadu for surcharging and transferring the suspected officers rather than taking lega= l actions against them. Mr Dagadu argued that since they did not find any of them culpable the= y decided to surcharge them.

Mr Albert Kan- Dapaah,Chairman of PAC, cautioned them to be serious with the administration of state resources because they would be held accountable to whatever they did. Mr E T Mensah, Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, who is also a member of the committee, said the state rather loses if interdicted persons who embezzled fund were allowed to enjoy 50 per cent of their salary. He said such an action when prevented could be used to construct asphalted roads in some community. Mr John Tia Akolgu, Minister of Information, said this law must be reviewed in order to preserve state resources.