Comment: Protect the public purse!

It is rather sad that at a time when the economy is facing tough times, news of corruption involving scandalous amount of monies are becoming a regular feature of our daily lives.

Much has been said about dubious judgement debts, the grievous scandals at the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA), as well as those involving the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority.

However, the latest corruption allegation involving the Ghana Revenue Authority and Subah Infosolutions Company, an IT-company, is indeed the gravest of the numerous scandals -- particularly as it involves an organisation of GRA’s repute.

GRA is said to have entered into an agreement with Subah Infosolutions to electronically monitor revenue generated by telecom companies. As per the agreement, the company was supposed to install equipment on the nodes of the telecoms to help track their revenue for effective taxation.

The telecom companies however protested the move, leading government to suspend operationalising the law that would have seen equipment installed on the networks -- but that was not until after GRA had signed the contract with Subah.

Eventually the equipment was never installed, but GRA continued to pay Subah Infosolutions for the work it was supposed to do.

The circumstances surrounding the deal remain murky, the same as other scandals this country has been plunged into.

Whether it is GYEEDA, SADA, Subah or Asongtaba, one striking thing in all these deals is that those supposed to protect the public purse have not ensured value for money.

This Paper supports calls for a full-scale investigation into the Subah-GRA saga. It is equally important for government to punish those found culpable to send a strong signal that it is indeed ready to combat corruption rather than merely paying lip-service as usual.

The President is quoted as saying the “meat” is down to the bone regarding the country’s financials; many are waiting to see how his government will react to those plundering the “bones”.

Public sector workers have been agitating for wage increases despite the fact that their wages are already threatening fiscal stability.

Indeed, there’s no way government can convince public sector workers to accept their current wages if reports of financial malfeasance are not properly addressed.

Government must act decisively; the era of lip-service must cease. If the meat is indeed down to the bone, let’s protect the bone!