Parliament won’t approve budgetary allocation for nonconforming MDAs

Wa, August 10, GNA – Parliament would soon stop approving the budgetary allocations of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) who fail to implement fully the recommendations of the Auditor General’s report.

Mr. Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, Vice Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, announced this at a three-day Orientation Workshop for officers and Heads of Institutions of the Ghana Education Service (GES) at Wa, on Tuesday.

Mr. Agyemang-Manu, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dormaa West Constituency in the Brong-Ahafo Region, said to ensure this Parliament had recommended to the Speaker to set up a Financial Tribunal to supervise the implementation of such recommendations by the MDAs.

He said PAC was not set up by Parliament only to invoke sanctions on institutions or persons who breached the public financial administration regulations but also to ensure that public funds were utilized properly for the benefit of society.

Mr. Agyemang-Manu, therefore, urged accountants to play a consultative advisory role to the heads of second cycle institutions in the administration of school funds.

He also urged the heads of such institutions to listen to the advice of their accountants because they were the professionals in the management of funds.

The MP again advised the school heads to keep their own records of all financial transactions and demand from their accountants and store keepers monthly account statements and stores reports.

According to the Vice Chairman, this would enable them detect early any foul play before it got out of hand.

He also asked them to strengthen their Internal Audit Units because they could help them to avoid an invitation by the PAC.

Mr. Iddrisu Mahama, the Upper West Regional Director of Education, said the purpose for organizing the workshop was to introduce the officers to more appropriate measures for the effective management of their offices and the institutions.

He said it would also give school heads and schedule officers the opportunity to interact and understand each other, discover their shortcomings and work as a team to remove any fears whenever they were invited to appear before the PAC.

Alhaji Issahaku Salia, Upper West Regional Minister, said Auditing was an integral part of good governance which should, therefore, be linked to accountability and better public sector management to improve on public sector performance.