The Executive Director of the African Parliamentarians' Network Against Corruption (APNAC), Daniel Batidam, is calling for extra vigilance on public institutions that handle the public purse.

"It is time we looked deeper into our system of accountability" he admonished, adding, if such vigilance is not exercised, it may well be that some public officers will be creating their own systems that will inure to their own selfish interest.

He was reacting to the controversy that erupted at the Judgement Debt Commission hearing, Wednesday, in which two institutions-the Bank of Ghana and Controller and Accountant General's Department are in disagreement over the existence of a judgement debt account at the Bank from which judgement debts are paid.

Officials of the Accountant General's Department claimed there exists a judgement debt account at the Bank of Ghana from which they have requested payments of judgement debts in the past.

They quoted copies of 11 January 2007 and 15 January 2007 letters to back their claims.

But the officials of the Bank of Ghana have disputed the claims.

The Deputy Chief Manager at the Bank, Gabriel Bokor told the Commission the account referred to by the officials of the Accountant General’s department was never a judgment debt account but rather a five year Treasury Bond Account.

He insisted the letter they received from the Controller and Accountant General's department asking them to pay the said judgment debts did not have the account numbers being referred to.

Speaking to Joy FM's Evans Mensah on Top Story on the controversy, Daniel Batidam said the revelations coming out of the judgement debt hearing must be a source of concern to all.

Expressing surprise about the disagreement between the two institutions, Batidam said it will be difficult for officials of the Accountant General's Department to write to the BoG to pay monies from a non-existent judgement debt account.

He called for better enforcement of the financial regulatory laws in order to seal all loop-holes that may exist in the country's financial administration.

Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo Markins who is also a Financial Crimes lawyer, said the Finance Minister or his deputy must provide answers to the questions surrounding the mystery account.

He feared when the issue is left with bureaucrats, some of whom would want to protect their job, there is the likelihood that the clarity being sought by the general public on the account would not come.

Asked if he would be surprised if there exists a judgement debt account, Afenyo Markins said he would not.

He explained for the purposes of good governance and accountability a government may decide to keep such an account in order to facilitate accountability.

In a quick reaction Batidam, while still respecting the view of Markins, said he would rather the country worked towards preventing judgement debts than to have a "premeditated attempt" to have a judgement debt account.