The Presidential Advisor on National Anti-Corruption Programme, Professor Francis Dodoo, has called for the surcharging of persons involved in the theft of public funds, and it should be above the prevailing interest rates to serve as deterrent, saying “audit without consequence is theatre.”
He said the nation had lost about GH¢100 billion to financial irregularities over the past six years, a situation Prof. Dodoo described as unacceptable and unsustainable.
This included cash irregularities such as payments without proper documentation, accounting for GH¢4.6 billion. An amount of GH¢8.1 billion in expenditure claims was, however, rejected by the Auditor-General as “fictitious, duplicated or unsupported.”
“Can you believe the quantum of money we, as a country, are losing? And then we have to turn around, go and borrow from outsiders, at significant interest rates.
The Presidential Advisor made the call at the inauguration of a new Audit Service office in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, last Saturday.
In attendance were the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, representatives of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Members of Parliament, MMDCEs and traditional leaders.
Surcharges
Prof. Dodoo urged the Audit Service to move beyond merely disallowing irregular expenditures to imposing meaningful surcharges.
“If I steal GH¢10 million and invest it in treasury bills at 28 per cent, over two years I will have made over GH¢5.6 million in interest.
“If the Auditor-General disallows this and asks me to repay only the GH¢10 million, what is the effect?
Even with a surcharge at 28 per cent, there is still no loss to me.
I walk away with nothing lost.
To a prospective thief, the worst-case scenario looks like a break-even proposition,” he said.
Prof. Dodoo said the magnitude of a surcharge must exceed the prevailing interest rate to have a chance of demotivating theft.
“When we don’t surcharge above the prevailing interest rate, we fail to disincentivise theft, even if we disallow,” he added.
Special courts
The Presidential Advisor said President John Dramani Mahama had convened a high-level meeting with the Auditor-General, the Chief Justice and the Attorney-General to address the situation.
“Since that meeting, the Chief Justice has set up special courts to deal with outcomes of audits and demand accountability.
“The Attorney-General and the Economic and Organised Crime Office are also setting up dedicated units to act on disallowance and surcharge certificates issued by the Auditor-General,” he said.
Performance contract
Prof. Dodoo further said that the era of ignoring audit queries was over.
“From today, performance contracts of MMDCEs will include a metric on audit compliance.
The government will publish a league table of MDAs and MMDAs based on audit implementation to know who is managing their resources well,” he said.
He also urged citizens to take responsibility of ensuring accountability by reading audit reports, attend or watch Public Accounts Committee sittings, and demand explanations from their assemblies regarding discrepancies.
Commitment
The Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, assured the public of the commitment of the service to protect the nation’s resources entrusted in the hands of public and civil servants.
He expressed appreciation to President John Mahama for his support to the service, saying “your Excellency, when we brought our regional accommodation challenge to your attention in 2011, you did not only listen, you acted.
“Today, this edifice stands as a testimony of your unwavering support to accountability institutions,” Mr Asiedu said.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh