Demo rocks Auditor-General to retrieve stolen monies

The Coalition for Democratic and Accountable Governance (Citizens’ Coalition) has petitioned Mr Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, Auditor-General, to surcharge persons and institutions implicated in the Auditor-General’s Report on Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for 2019, 2020, and 2021.

The petition was submitted to the Auditor on Monday September 5, 2022 after hours of picketing within the enclave of the Ministries in Accra.

Dr Kojo Asante, Director of Advocacy and Policy Engagement, Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), who led the submission of the petition said despite the constitutional mandate empowering the Auditor-General to disallow and surcharge and the subsequent affirmation of such powers by the Supreme Court, he was yet to exercise those powers since taking office.

He said the Coalition believed that the Auditor-general’s failure to exercise his powers emboldened public officials to continue causing financial loss to the State.

“In 2018, the Auditor-General’s office recovered GH₵66 million back to government coffers through surcharges; therefore, Mr. Akuamoah Asiedu must exercise his obligation under Article 187(7)(b) of the Constitution and Section 17 of the Audit Service Act, 2000 (Act 584) to save the country from the perennial loss of limited financial resources through corruption and ill-advised public expenditure.”

The Coalition said it would explore all legal options available to ensure the AG acted to save the country from the perennial loss.

Dr Asante said Monday’s picketing was the first public action undertaken by the Citizens Coalition since its launch on July 4, 2022, which announced their resolve, as citizens, to insist on a firm adherence to the tenets of transparency, accountability, and responsiveness from those to whom public power and national resources had been entrusted.

He said the demand for the Auditor-General to exercise his powers under the constitution to issue surcharges and disallowances against persons cited for various financial irregularities in 2019, 2020, and 2021 Auditor-General’s reports form part of the Coalition’s list of immediate demands and actions on accountable governance needed to be taken by some key State agencies and institutions.

The Coalition for Democratic and Accountable Governance (Citizens’ Coalition) is a non- partisan coalition/movement made up of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and individuals that harnesses democratic processes of mass education and mobilization to establish a culture of accountable and transparent governance that actively and consciously responds to the demands of citizens and promotes human rights, constitutionalism, and the national interest.

When the GNA reached out to the Auditor-General’s Department for a reaction, Mr Lawrence Ayagiba, Deputy Auditor-General in charge of Performance and Special Audits, who received the petition on behalf of the Auditor-General, assured the CSOs that the petition would be presented to management to peruse the issues and concerns raised therein.

He said, subsequently a meeting would be scheduled between the AG and the leadership of the CSO on Friday, September 9, 2022, for further deliberations.

GNA