Public Accounts Committee angry with Korle-bu

A member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament and National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abrem (KEEA), Samuel Atta-Mills, has asked the committee to sanction the director of finance of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Bright Korkoryie.

According to him, Mr Bright Korkoryie had not been able to recover GH¢116,000 being unearned salaries, from some workers of the hospital who had left their posts.

The KEEA MP made the suggestion at PAC’s public sitting yesterday when officials of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, led by a Deputy Minister of Health, Kinglsey Aboagye-Gyedu, appeared before the committee to respond to queries raised in the 2015 Auditor-General’s report on public institutions.

Mr Atta-Mills said he did not understand why a worker at the hospital who misappropriated an amount of GH¢2,844 as captured in the same report, was sacked by the management of the health facility while the director of finance, who had not been able to recoup an amount of GH¢116,000, is still at post.

The unearned salaries included an amount GH¢60,618 paid to a medical doctor of the hospital, Dr Jacob Yangyuory, who went on study leave in 2013 and refused to report back to work.

Mr Bright Korkoryie told the committee that out of the total unearned salaries of GH¢116,000, his department had been able to recover only GH¢13,000 – which even angered the committee members the more.

The chairman of the PAC said that the finance director should make the necessary arrangements to retrieve all the monies from those involved, stressing that the amount owed by Dr Jacob Yangyuory should be recovered immediately otherwise the committee would recommend that he (director of finance) be surcharged with that amount of money.

The issue of unearned salaries dogged many of the hospitals across the country, with committee members expressing worry over the situation.

The Bechem Government Hospital in the Tano South of the Brong-Ahafo Region was found to be saddled with GH¢60,000 unearned salaries; and the hospital authorities explained that they had been able to retrieve GH¢9,000 of the amount so far.

The deputy minister of Health, Kingsley Aboagye-Gyedu, told the committee members in view of the widespread nature of that particular infraction, the Controller and Accountant-General had introduced what is called e-validation to verify all government employees at post before their salaries are paid.