V/R establishes committee to check misuse of utility services

Ho, Feb. 20, GNA - A meeting of heads of ministries departments and agencies (MDAs) in the Volta Region on Thursday set up a seven member committee to deal with issues relating to the use of telephones and other utilities by public institutions in the region.

The committee is made up of the Controller and Accountant-General's Department, the Volta Regional Co-ordinating Council (VRCC), Ghana Water Company, Electricity Company of Ghana, Ghana Telecom, Internal Revenue Service and the Audit Service.

It is expected to deal with discrepancies in bills, ensure efficient use of utility services and also help check abuses.

The meeting which was chaired by Mr Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa, Volta Regional Minister was convened by the VRCC to discuss concerns raised by the Volta Regional Head of Ghana Telecomm, Mr Douglas Wagba concerning the use of telephone facilities by MDAs.

Mr Wagba said a sampling of telephone use by MDAs indicated phenomenal increases in the use of the facility since government decided to pay for the service on behalf of the institutions.

He said the situation could have arisen from the use of fixed phones to make calls to mobile phones and Internet and some employees allowing their relatives and friends to use such phones.

The meeting noted that bills submitted by Ghana Telecom did not reflect payments, which had already been made, giving a true assessment of the level of indebtedness by the MDAs difficult to ascertain.

The meeting also recommended that telephone booths should be sited close to offices from which private calls could be easily made. It was also realised that since the payment of utility bills were made in bulk it was difficult to segregate the specific consumptions to the various MDAs.

Other issues raised included the need for the Heads of Departments to insist on the inspection of tax certificates before contracts were awarded to contractors, the menace of bushfires and the danger it posed to electricity supply and remedial measures which should be taken. In his remarks Mr Owusu-Yeboa called for co-operation among the various agencies to resolve their differences instead of a strictly formal and technical approach in their relations with each other. He commended the level of collaboration among the various agencies and departments but said there was room for improvement this year.