An auctioneering firm, Smelter Mart, has run away with government funds totaling GH¢37,125.00 after it was contracted by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to auction property worth GH¢44,125.00.
The company, after auctioning the items on October 15, 2012 paid only GH¢7,000.00 into the accounts of the GHS leaving a balance of GH¢37,125.00.
This was revealed last Friday during the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament sitting to interrogate the 2013 audited report and recommendations of the GHS by the Auditor General.
Smelter Mart, according to the Auditor-General, was contracted by the GHS to auction some property worth GH?44,125.00.
However, after three years and three months of auctioning, the remaining amount of GH¢37,125.00 has not been accounted for.
The 2012 audited report of the Auditor-General noted that “there was no action taken on the officers involved as well as per our review.”
Recover the money
The Auditor-General, thus, recommended to the Director-General of the GHS to report the conduct of Shelter Mart to the appropriate authority to recover the outstanding amount of GH¢37,125.00 with appropriate interest.
The Auditor-General further recommended that punitive action be taken against the company to serve as a deterrent to other auctioneers adding that “in the event that management fails to recover the amount from the auctioneer, the Director-General and the Transport Officer should be held liable.”
Blacklist Shelter Mart
During the PAC hearing, the committee also recommended to the Ministry of Health to blacklist the auctioneer since it auctions property of various Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Minister of Health, Alex Segbefia agreed with the committee and said “the suggestion is a valid one and should be considered highly by the Ministry. And for that matter, not only the Ministry of Health but all Ministries because it is an issue outstanding against all government institutions and therefore, it is something that we should look at.”
Psychiatric hospital payroll
For the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, it was found that the hospital's payroll has “ghost names” who have earned salaries worth GH¢16,426.20.
These were as a result of former employees resigning, retiring and or dying but still have their names on the hospital's payroll.
The unearned salaries, according to the Auditor-General, is contrary to Regulation 297 of the Financial Administration Regulation, 2004, which requires the Head of Department to cause the immediate stoppage of salary to a public servant who has separated from the department as a result of resignation, retirement, death, among many others.
Unable to recover the amount
Even though the Auditor-General had advised management of the Hospital to recover the amounts from the former employees and pay back to government chest, management has since July 2015 not recovered the amount from the separated staff.
Acting Director-General of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Dr. Pinamang Appau told the PAC that her outfit has put in place measures to track the beneficiaries in order to recoup the monies and pay into government chest.
Dr. Appau said so far, they have not been able to get a single person and thus have resorted to looking for the next of kin of the beneficiaries “all in an effort at getting the money back.”
Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital
The Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, which is expected to appear before the Committee today has issues on overdue salaries amounting to GH¢127,285.00 and payment of unearned salaries amounting to GH¢12,062.00.
According to the report of the Auditor-General, out of the amount, management has since recovered GH¢48,459.00 of the overdue salary advances leaving a balance of GH¢78,826.00 while GH¢4,825.00 was recovered under payment of unearned salaries leaving a balance of GH¢7,236.22.
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