Assemblies misappropriate HIV/AIDS funds

Sunyani, July 9, GNA - District HIV/AIDS focal persons in the Brong-Ahafo Region have expressed concern about the misappropriation of funds allocated to district assemblies by the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) to implement the Multi-Sectoral HIV/AIDS Programmes (M-SHAP). They have appealed to the GAC to audit and educate the assemblies so that the funds could be utilized judiciously and efficiently. The district focal persons raised the concern at a regional and districts HIV/AIDS committee meeting in Sunyani.

The meeting was also attended by the Civil Society Organizations contracted by the GAC to implement the 2009 M-SHAP in the region. They alleged that some District Chief executives together with their Coordinating Directors and Financial Officers sometimes either raised memos themselves without the consent of the District HIV/AIDS focal person or instructed the focal persons to raise memos for withdrawal of monies from the fund as loans to support assembly projects.

"The assembly authorities always promise us to repay such loans when money is available and as subordinates we find it difficult to object to their demands but immediately the district assembly's common fund is ready they failed to deliver their promises", one of the focal persons said.

The situation, they said continued, affected HIV/AIDS activities lined-up for beneficiary communities "since we are not able to reach our set targets and also achieve our goals because of lack of funds". Mr. Agyemang Badu, Budget analyst and HIV/AIDS focal person for Techiman Municipality, appealed to the GAC to order district assemblies to design disbursement forms for withdrawing monies from the fund. This form, he said, should bear the signatures of the coordinating director, financial officer and the District HIV/AIDS focal person adding that by so doing "they cannot withdraw monies without our consent".

Mr. Nat Dzadey, Regional HIV/AIDS focal person, expressed shock about the situation and assured the focal persons that he would write officially to the district assemblies to ensure immediate reversal of the trend.

"The purpose of the M-SHAP fund is definitely different from that of the district assembly's common fund and any district which misappropriate its use would account for it", Mr. Dzadey warned the HIV/AIDS focal persons.