The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament has ordered the management of the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), to surcharge its former boss, Alhaji Gilbert Seidu Iddi for wasting over GHc186,000 on a trip to Turkey, four years ago.
The directive follows a recommendation by the 2013 Auditor General’s report that Gilbert Seidu Iddi be surcharged for the unauthorized payment.
At it’s sitting on Monday, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Kwaku Agyemang Manu said per the Auditor General’s report , the money spent on the officials who embarked on that trip including Gilbert Seidu Iddi and a former Minister of state , Alhaji Dr Mustapha Ahmed “was not productively used.”
Kwaku Agyemang Manu therefore directed the management of SADA to serve their former boss with a letter for refund.
SADA not doing enough to recover money – CEO admits
Meanwhile, speaking to Citi News, the current CEO of SADA, Charles Abugri, admitted that his outfit has not been doing enough to recover state funds that were wrongfully expended by the past management.
“No we haven’t done enough. We have to keep working at it… some things we are recovering. Some efforts, we are making. We probably need to give a bit more effort in one thing or the other, but some of these legal things are complex.”
He however expressed reluctance in using the legal route to recover the monies saying, “courts are not cheap so sometimes you have to find other ways to resolve the problem other than court to get our money back and try and build the relationships going forward. That doesn’t mean that we have ruled out court. These are all possibilities.”
Also speaking to Citi News, the Vice Chairman of the committee, Samuel Atta Akyea expressed disgust at how monies meant for SADA were misappropriated during the tenure of the previous management.
“It is the most disgraceful report that I have ever seen and read since I became a member of the Public Accounts Committee. The shameful dimension to this whole thing is that, it seems to me that there are people who want to do cover ups,” he added.
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By: Duke Opoku Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana