Krachi District misappropriates Ghc74,000

The Krachi East District Assembly has misapplied Ghc74, 761 earmarked for development projects under the District Assembly Common fund (DACF) to finance recurrent expenditures for the 2009-2010 fiscal years.

The Assembly explained to the Public Accounts Committee that the money was used to cater for the Assembly’s repairs/maintenance cost, transport and night allowances; expenditure most financed from internally generated funds (IGF).

Based on the Auditor-General on the accounts of District Assemblies for the years ended 2010, 2011 and 2012, the district co-ordinating directors, G.T.Apedo, Gado Musah and finance officer, Joseph Bedzrah have been found culpable and the Assembly is to refund the misapplied amount into the Common Fund account.

At the Public Account Committee (PAC) sitting in Parliament on Wednesday, the officers were further probed for their financial indiscipline during their tenure from the issuance of a dud cheque, falsifying impresses, their inability to provide store records on the receipt of items purchased from stores amounting to Ghc36,151.

Asked why they embezzled and failed to submit proper accounts and receipts, the three officers claim they used a chunk of the money on capacity building for staff.

That reason did not sit well with the members of the PAC who charged them to pay up some of the money. “You have 14 days to deliver receipts to auditors and pay up a balance of 1,157Ghc” Atta Akyea the deputy chairman of PAC said.

The Finance Officers and Co-ordinating Directors accused of causing financial loss have been ordered to produce appropriate supporting documents to authenticate the payments, or refund the amount involved, totaling Ghc12,162.