Fresh from a “major” victory in court, pressure group Occupy Ghana has vowed to do everything possible to retrieve an estimated ?5bn of taxpayer’s money lost through mismanagement by public officers.
A member of the group Sydney Casely Hayford told Joy News Tuesday, the judgement emboldens the Auditor-General to do more than document the sins of public officers in his annual reports.
He said OccupyGhana will assist in this effort to identify persons who through mismanagement, negligence or corruption have caused public funds to go waste.
Three years ago, the audit report revealed in 152 pages blood-cuddling stories of wastages and corruption. Some 43 district assemblies dissipated GH¢1 billion.
Last April, the Auditor-General submitted 13 reports to Parliament on public accounts for the year ended December 31, 2015. These yearly reports are forwarded to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee where indicted public officers and managers are invited to explain themselves.
An apology from the culprit and expressions of anger from the committee members often ends the matter.
OccupyGhana frustrated by a seeming toothlessness of the Auditor-General and the PAC, went to court convinced the A-G is pussyfooting in the fight against corruption.
The court has effectively said, Occupy Ghana is right. “Happy is an understatement. We are elated,” Casely Hayford praised the judgment. He said the group could go as far back as 1992 to look for public officers indicted in the Auditor-General’s report. According to him, Ghana has lost as much as 5billion cedis through wasteful public sector dealings and transactions.
Source: Myjoyonline.com