Ensure judicious use of Assembly funds

District Co-ordinating Directors and Finance Officers have been asked to ensure the judicious use of assembly resources to the benefit of residents.

Similarly, the assemblies have been advised to stop the practice of abandoning on-going projects, and initiating new ones.

The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, Hon Kweku Agyemang-Manu, said this during the three-day sitting of the Committee in Takoradi to deal with irregularities raised against Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Western and Central regions for period 2010-2012.

Hon. Agyeman-Manu noted some that officials have been accused of misappropriation and mismanagement of assembly funds to the detriment of developmental needs of the people in the various districts.

He said in certain cases payments were made without raising vouchers and in instances where vouchers were raised, they were not backed by necessary receipts.

He charged assemblies to report staff members who misappropriate funds to the Police and institute a civil action against them for retrieval of the money.

He said the situation where the assembly vehicles were recklessly handled by drivers would no longer be tolerated; adding that any assembly which failed to allow drivers to log their trips before embarking would be surcharged with the cost of fuel.

Mr Agyeman-Manu disclosed that the PAC has had a lot of co-operation from the management of the respective assemblies since the exercise began.

Hearing on the STMA audit has been postponed to November 2014.