GH¢2 million missing

How public officials continue with impunity to misappropriate state funds have been manifest in a document leaked to DAYBREAK over the weekend.

In a recruitment exercise conducted by the chiefs of the Ghana National Fire Service, a whopping GH¢2,396,409 vanished into thin air and cannot be accounted for as we do this piece.

This is in spite of pressing needs facing the Service, including logistics; vehicle maintenance, staff accommodation and outstanding debts owed creditors, including subscriptions owed the media

The five page document reveals not only hard cash made by the Fire Service as part of internally generated funds that could have helped reduce annual budgetary pressure on the state institution, but also commissions that accrued to a state bank for services to the Fire Service.

According to the document, titled GHANA NATIONAL FIRE SERVICE 2016 RECRUITMENT AND ENLISTMENT, the Fire Service was able to raise Gh¢2,819, 300 from the sale of application forms to 28,193 applicants at the cost of C100 per form.

The document indicates that five percent commission totaling GH¢140,965 was paid by the Fire Service administration to the Ghana Commercial Bank for managing the sale of the forms.

Ten percent of the amount equivalent to GH¢281,930 was paid to the Computer Science Department of the University of Ghana for developing the software which was used to sell the forms and screening of prospective applicants.

While sale of application forms to applicants is one of the ingenious ways on the part of state institutions for raising internally generated funds for supporting national budgets, the abuse of the arrangement on the part of public officers is becoming almost an annual ritual for public officers to abuse public funds.

Source: DAYBREAK