Public Accounts Committee (PAC) did a very good job by enlightening the general public on how state funds from the ordinary taxpayer, grants, aids, debt relief and loans secured in the name of rapid and sustainable development were misapplied and embezzled by some duty bearers. The consequences of these misappropriation and financial irregularities are not far- fetched and they form the misfortunes bedevilling the nation's economic development. Our attention, therefore, must focus on the breeding grounds for these mischievous and wicked acts and how they can be effectively addressed in order to free more resources for development - something we have all been yearning for since independence. A careful and critical analysis of the public hearings on the 2005 audited accounts revealed, among other things, weak and non-functional internal control measures in most of our institutions. Crafty and witty people take advantage of such systems to cheat and steal large sums of money for their personal gains. The PAC, in addition to ensuring that the culprits of these heinous acts are prosecuted and sentenced, must see to it that the Auditor-General's Department, the Controller and Accountant General's Department, the Serious Fraud Office, the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice and the National Commission on Civic Education are well resourced to carry out their legitimate duties effectively. If this is not done, it will be highly impossible to bring about any desired change just by holding public hearings on audited accounts. Regular and timely audit are a key element to strengthening internal control mechanisms, making it uneasy and very unfriendly for smart guys to outwit the system. In some cases, there are no financial policies or manuals in place, let alone their enforcement and full compliance to prevent leakages and wastage of scarce resources. How can you buy a gun for someone without giving the person any training on how to use it and yet expect that the gun will be put to good use? This is not a sound and rational behaviour because it is crystal clear that the person will abuse its usage and cause more harm than good to society. This is exactly what is happening. The government is making every effort to raise funds either internally or externally (like the Millennium Challenge Account) for development programmes while the chunk of the money ends up in individual and private pockets simply because the same government is not making adequate and conscious effort to build and strengthen accountability structures that will help close up all loopholes for dubious and diabolical activities. (Source of evidence: 2005 Auditor-General's report of the Public Accounts of Ghana) Just imagine how a school bursar at the Presby Boys Secondary School (PRESEC) can take advantage of a loose system and squander two billion cedis (old currency); funds earmarked for school improvement. Permit me to emphatically state that this trend will not stop if government does not put in place concrete, effective and functional internal control systems. As I have mentioned elsewhere, spending money and other resources to prosecute and jail people who have caused financial loss to the state is good but investing in the mechanisms and structures to prevent the occurrence of financial loss to the state is the best decision that can help break the cycle of poverty. As a nation, we must learn to set our priorities right. His Excellency, the President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, showing political will and grave concern to quality spending of resources and delivery of services, ordered the establishment of a Citizen Charter at every MDA to track and monitor performance of work. This is welcoming news, and I humbly urge the PAC to follow-up with the appropriate and responsible bodies to ensure that these charters are duly established and made functional. The PAC and civil society groups must work assiduously to ensure that the Right to Information Bill is enacted and enforced together with the Whistle Blowers’ Act to robustly fight against corruption. This is one way we can demonstrate a genuine and true commitment to achieving zero tolerance for corruption. The PAC must impress on the Office of Accountability set up at the Presidency to disclose publicly its role and the specific activities carried out so far to complement the government's efforts in the crusade against corruption in this country. We are very much interested in reading copies of its quarterly and annual reports since it came into operation. The PAC should be spearheading the process where parliament will mandate the Serious Fraud Office which is to be replaced with the Economic and Organised Crime Unit to probe the sources of income of the affluent in our society and confiscate illegally acquired wealth to the state. All political aspirants contesting or who have contested for a Presidential flag bearer must be included in this category. By this, the PAC must ensure that the Asset Declaration Law is vigorously enforced to check and minimise corrupt practices. These are a few pragmatic steps that do not need any further delay for implementation to help deal with our greatest enemy of material well-being, and coupled with, the ongoing sector public reforms, to propel the country into a middle-income level by 2015. Source: Michael A. Ansah/Daily Graphic