The Member of Parliament for Ahafo Ano South, Mr. Stephen Kwaku Balado-Manu has advocated the establishment of a financial tribunal to try public officials who have embezzled colossal state funds as contained in the Auditor General's 2004 and 2005 Report. Mr. Balado Manu's suggestion came a few days after the Public Accounts Committee, which is examining the Auditor-General's report found that billions of cedis of public funds had been 'skillfully' diverted into private pockets, while the state records revenue shortfalls. In Mr. Manu's view not even the Fast Track Courts (FTCs) as well as the traditional courts would be able to prosecute the emerging cases speedily, given the magnitude of embezzlements that are coming up. Mr. Balado-Manu, who is also a member of the Public Accounts of Committee said anytime the issue of corruption comes up all fingers point at ministers and their deputies or politicians in general. “But the Auditor-General's Report has brought to light that it is rather the technocrats who are engaged in the chop chop business,” he argued. Institutions that have so far appeared before the committee include the Ministries of Water Resources, Works and Housing; Tourism and Diasporan Relations; Health; Local Government, Rural Development, Environment; the National Health Insurance Scheme and the Parliamentary Service. Some of the high profile issues that have been raised before the committee involve the insufficient documentation by the Local Government Ministry in respect of the payment of a total of ¢14.39 billion to Auto Parts Ltd. between February and April 2003 for the purchase of 117 Double Cabin Nissan Pick Up 4WD for the use of District Chief Executives (DCEs). According to the Audit team, Section 707 of the Financial Administration Regulations, 1979, (LI 1234) states that every Head of Department is generally responsible for the care and custody of equipment held by his staff and is particularly responsible for keeping accurate records of equipment held, its location and the officer in immediate charge of it at any time. “However, management could neither produce the allocation list of the 117 vehicles nor copies of the letters communicating the transfer of the Assemblies,” the team noted. “A ministry responsible for local government and rural development has no records on vehicle allocation. If things are run like that how can the rural people get development? No wonder my rural area is not developed. If the DCEs involved are bad they can do whatever they want with the vehicles”, Mr. Manu pointed out. "The non-keeping of records by the Ministry is the height of irresponsibility," added Hon. Enoch Teye Mensah, MP for Ningo Prampram. Following unconvincing answers by officials of the Ministry led by its Deputy Minister, Mr. Jeremiah Ahmed Awudu, the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Hon. Samuel Sallas Mensah charged the Ministry to appoint two of its personnel and together with other two officers of the Audit Team to go round the country to conduct an audit of the vehicles by October 30. Another irregularity detected by the Audit Team was unrecorded fuel purchases amounting to the tune of ¢1.45 billion between July 2003 to December 2004. "We observed that drivers at the Ministry did not make entries in the logbooks," the Report stated. "The non-use of logbooks is not an oversight but a calculated negligence. I've not been impressed at all," declared Hon. Manu. The Committee also recommended that the Local Government Ministry should employ a technical transport officer to bring sanity into the fuel purchases arrangement. Also, the Clerk to Parliament, Mr Emmanuel Anyimadu, led a group of personnel from the Parliamentary Service to appear before the Committee to answer a number of queries. The Service has made 53 payments to the tune of ¢4.60 billion without obtaining official receipts from suppliers and companies. In his response, the Director of Finance, Mr. Kofi Amponsah-Boateng, said the Service has made “contacts with many of the payees and most of them have provided receipts to cover the payments.” This prompted the chairman of the Committee; Mr. Mensah to point out that the non-existence of an Audit Implementation Committee has created many of the lapses for public officials to outwit the system. Besides, as Balado-Manu pointed out, the Parliamentary Service has not taken seriously laws passed by Parliament and the non-establishment of the Audit Implementation Committee amply manifests this. He added that if Parliament itself does not observe its laws then who else will. The Minority Leader Alban Bagbin warned that if the Parliamentary Service does not put in place the Audit Implementation Committee, Parliament will not approve its 2008 budgetary allocation. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning is expected to appear before the Committee on Monday. Article 187(2) provides that The public accounts of Ghana and of all public offices, including the courts, the central and local government administrations, of the Universities and public institutions of like nature, of any public corporation or other body or organisation established by an Act of Parliament shall be audited and reported on by the Auditor-General. Source: Public Agenda