Accountable impress must be well accounted for-Sallas-Mensah

Accra, Nov. 18, GNA - Mr Samuel Sallas-Mensah, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, on Friday asked high public officials to account properly for accountable impress used during foreign travels. "This is where little accountability is done and this is where government officials fiddle with state money."

Mr Sallas-Mensah in a contribution to the debate on the Financial policy of government for the fiscal year ending 31 December 2006, said "trillions may go into people's pockets, if a conscious effort is not made to make people account for what they spend apart from their per diem."

He said in most cases, such impress were either unnecessary or too much, especially, when boarding and lodging expenses and per diem have been catered for.

The member scolded the presidency for carrying several thousands of dollars in accountable impress during the President's recent official travel to the United States.

Mr Sallas-Mensah called for the establishment of the Financial Administration Court, a special body, to look into financial misconduct, since the traditional courts were not properly disposed to handle such cases.

He said the Financial Administration Law passed some years ago by Parliament have those provisions. The member said, when such a court was established, the Public Accounts Committee would have it easy in bringing those, who engaged in financial misconduct to book.

On the budget, he said it was only the cycle of presentation that has changed, saying, "Parliamentary committees, which were supposed to look at the estimates of the budget were being stampeded with work, since they did not have sufficient time to do proper scrutiny." Nov. 18, 05