Payments of unearned salaries according to the Auditor General’s report for the 2015 financial year, form a significant part of financial losses to the country to the tune of GhC505million.

Speaking to Citi News, the Ketu North MP lamented the situation, but expressed hope that an electronic payment system introduced by the then NDC administration will check the occurrence.

[contextly_sidebar id=”6gYMvRAwCkhXY6sXuyzej9GNsYmxIRoo”]“These unearned salaries almost run through all the agencies that we are considering. An unearned salary is salary for work not done.”

He was hopeful that the e-salary platform introduced under the Mahama administration will help address the issue.

“We were worried, but fortunately the new system developed by the previous government started in 2015, which is the e-salary system, where before salary is paid to the workers at any department, the head of the department must confirm and authenticate the number of workers. Previously, we didn’t have that system so people are paid even when they are on retirement, their salaries keep coming. When they resign their salaries still keep coming. But the new system that has been developed will solve the problem and we hope that the 2016 audit report will not have issues of unearned salaries,” he added.

Background

The Auditor General’s report stated taht Ghana lost more than GhC505 million through the activities of MDAs in the year 2015.

The amount according to the report, was from financial weaknesses in cash, tax, payroll, procurement, rent and contract irregularities as well as outstanding debts and loans.

The Health Ministry according to the report, recorded the highest financial irregularity of more than GHc25 million.

Payroll irregularities contributed significantly to the figure, as almost GHc600,000 unearned salaries were paid.

On the payroll irregularities, the report said “This was due mainly to payments of unearned salaries to separated staff, as a result of delays in deleting their names from the payroll, and delay in transferring unclaimed pensions and salaries to government chest by the banks.”

The Auditor General further recommended that, coordination between Finance and Human Resource Units within MDAs be intensified for prevention of such situations “as well as recovery of unearned salaries paid to unauthorized personnel.”

Ghana loses millions yearly

Reports from the Auditor General’s Department had shown that the country loses millions every year through the activities of MDAs, as well as the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.

This compelled pressure group, OccupyGhana, to drag the Auditor General to the Supreme Court for an order, directing the Auditor General to surcharge persons who cause such financial infractions.

According to Occupy Ghana, a thorough study of the Auditor General’s report revealed that, between 2003 and 2014, the total losses the state incurred in “irregularities” arising from Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies was about GH¢2,448,968,912.29.

Retrieve ‘looted’ state cash – Supreme Court orders Auditor General

The Supreme Court in June 2017, ordered the Auditor General to, with immediate effect; begin surcharging persons found to have misappropriated monies belonging to the state.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post MP laments MDAs unearned salary payments appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, this is because Akufo-Addo has also demonstrated his commitment to prioritizing the needs of loyalists of his New Patriotic Party (NPP).

[contextly_sidebar id=”pqsuWlTu3dE9beU6jOWmUqIFk9MBt39y”]Speaking to Citi News, Mr. Avedzi expressed regret at the High Commissioner’s recent comments, saying that it appeared he was only taking a cue from his boss, President Akufo-Addo.

Mr. Ayisi Boateng whilst addressing some party youth at the Kumasi Technical University over the weekend, said he has resolved to prioritize members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in his dealings.

He said although he was to treat all Ghanaians fairly, he believes NPP members are more Ghanaian than others.

“This government is doing its best to create job opportunities and me for instance, I told my people over there [that], it is because of NPP that I’m here, so the NPP man is my priority. I told them when NDC was in power it was Kwesi Ahwoi who was there, now we are in power, so Ayisi-Boateng is here with you. My topmost priority is the problems of an NPP person before any other Ghanaian, take it or leave it.”

“Indeed, I’m not boasting, but I’ve started meeting the NPP groups. Every weekend I meet some group members and I tell you if I had my way, every job opportunity that will come will go to a TESCON member before any other person. And I know my colleague appointees also have the same feeling except that because of IMF we cannot do anything now,” he said.

Following his comment, which the Minority Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa described as reprehensible, and called for his dismissal, many Ghanaians have descended heavily on the diplomat.

There are also growing calls for an immediate termination of his role, but Mr. Avedzi believes that President will not take a decision to sack him despite the unfortunate comment.

“The man is taking a cue from what his boss, the President did. When he came, he asked all the CEOs in government departments and agencies to proceed on leave, sacked and replaced with NPP people. The High Commissioner is doing the same thing so if you ask the President to sack him, I don’t think he can do it because he himself has done the same thing. The High Commissioner is only copying his boss the President,” the Ketu South Member of Parliament said on Eyewitness News on Tuesday.

Sack SA High Commissioner for shameful partisan comment – Ablakwa

Meanwhile the Minority Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is urging President Akufo-Addo to sack the High Commissioner.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Monday, Mr. Ablakwa said, “ideally, he should resign and apologize to Ghanaians, and to the President for betraying the trust that was reposed in him. He should be doing the honorable thing, but we know that in this our country, that does not happen quite often… The foreign minister, the president, must recall him with immediate effect…It is clear that this mindset cannot represent Ghana.”

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By: Jonas Nyabor & Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Guilty Akufo-Addo can’t sack Ayisi Boateng – Avedzi appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Tuesday, the Deputy Minority Leader, James Avedzi Klutse, said “It is shameful for Bawumia to say in the past that we don’t need to borrow because we have all the resources here and now saying that we need to borrow and borrow responsibly, that is the problem I have with him.”

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia at the closing ceremony of the two-day National Policy Summit on Trade and Industry on Tuesday said the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) will continue the trajectory of borrowing to help grow the Ghanaian economy but will do that responsibly and not recklessly.

[contextly_sidebar id=”B6SJhhlRyqzX80pJEjcHOkP8M4lWh6RC”]“A lot of people misunderstand when we say we are going to be responsible, it doesn’t mean that we are not going to borrow money, it only means that we are going to borrow responsibly and not recklessly,” he added.

The Vice President who in the past lambasted the former government’s voracious appetite for foreign loans at the summit argued that “no government can say they won’t borrow money, that is ridiculous but you have to borrow responsibly and not recklessly.”

But Mr. Avedzi on Eyewitness News accused Dr. Bawumia of deception saying “reality is dawning on him” because “he knows that what he said when he was in opposition as a running mate was meant to deceive the people of Ghana so that he can get the votes, he’s got it now and he is now telling the people that he will borrow.”

“The Vice President now and while he was the running mate for the NPP was emphatic on the issue about borrowing in Ghana saying that the country need not borrow and that we have the resources here in Ghana and that when they win power they will not borrow.  Today he is now the Vice President, he is now giving a different interpretation to what he said; he is now defining that to be they will be doing responsible borrowing. In the first place who did irresponsible borrowing? Every government borrow and this borrowing is approved by the Parliament and in the case of Ghana, the previous Parliament was made up of both a NPP and NDC members and every loan that was taken by the previous government was approved by Parliament,” he noted.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Bawumia’s new position on borrowing shameful – Minority appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration accused the Mahama administration of having a voracious appetite for sole sourcing of contracts which were inflated at times.

[contextly_sidebar id=”oMSP346ww8LUzJt640uAXE8TiinVqfSF”]The NPP argued that, sole sourcing allowed corruption, and benefited a privileged few in the Mahama government adding that an Akufo-Addo government will eschew such practice.

But according to the Former Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, this choice of the government may delay critical projects since sole-sourcing has its own benefits.

This he said is because going through the normal tendering process could “sometimes take up to about six months with the minimum being three months.”

“So anything you want to procure you have to go through these processes and its going to make governance so difficult for them. And because that is what have been saying let me not have anything against that. I wish them well but I have my doubts and I believe that it is going to put them in a tight corner and it will even have negative effects on this country,” he added.

MP calls for more power for procurement authority

The Deputy Majority Leader of Parliament, Adwoa Safo, had earlier called for the amendment of the public procurement act to give the Procurement Authority, the powers to conduct value for money auditing on sole-sourced projects.

She described as sad, revelations by the Auditor General’s annual reports that 80 percent of the procurement malpractices are centered on sole sourcing.

“From 2012 to 2014 when I was on the public accounts committee, about 80% of their recommendations to parliament are procurement malpractices… So I think that if the law is there, you need also a policy direction. And I think that, that is the first step that the president has given us in his state of the nation address.”

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Abandoning sole-sourcing will ‘cripple’ Akufo-Addo’s gov’t – Avedzi appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking on Eyewitness News ahead of the government’s first budget statement, Mr. Avedzi argued that, a likely downward review of allocations as they have gathered, would negatively impact development.

[contextly_sidebar id=”fXuTdAdu60VJG7PqiQC07oj9bPq32F5r”]There are currently eight earmarked statutory funds; the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), Petroleum-Related Funds, Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), the Social Security and National Insurance Trust, and the Road Fund.

Mr. Avedzi, as an example, explained that “if you want to reduce the Assembly common fund from 7.5 percent to 5 percent, what it means is that about one-third of what is going to the assembly will no longer go there. So if the Assembly had 1.5 million, this assembly will only receive 1 million.”

Development at district level to suffer

Development could also suffer at the district level, Mr. Avedzi cautioned, if the level of funding drops, thereby affecting the output of beneficiary institutions.

“We know that the money for development at the assembly level affects the masses, so if you are reducing this allocation to the assemblies, what it means is that, the development at the local level will suffer.”

He explained that “for instance, if you are not able to get enough school infrastructure at the basic schools; then the level of teaching; the quality of children that will be churned out at the basic schools will suffer. When they suffer, how do they end at the secondary schools.”

In defence of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund, he said “the infrastructure funds are funds that are meant for infrastructural development. If you want to amend the laws so you can use part of that money for recurrent expenditure, you are going to ensure that the infrastructure sector suffers.”

“When the infrastructure sector suffers and we don’t have good roads that can propel economic activity, it will end up affecting the GDP so there are so many factors to consider. It is not just a matter of amending the law.”

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Reducing statutory fund allocations will slow dev’t – Avedzi appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Making a case for his election, the Member of Parliament for the Keta Constituency, Richard Quarshigah, who also speaks for the Caucus, argued that Mr. Avedzi is the most qualified MP to lead the NDC at this stage.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Quarshigah said the NDC needs a strong person to put the incoming government on its toes; a skill he sees in Mr. Avedzi.

“Avedzi for instance has been the chairman of the Finance Committee for eight years, and he has demonstrated himself in a very excellent and appreciable manner on that committee. People on the other side tried to torpedo a lot of business from government but as chairman he was very astute and resolute. Avedzi is very deep and reflective. He is one who appears to be a unifier,” he added.

The NDC has reportedly asked the various regional caucuses to submit possible names to lead the opposition party in Ghana’s next Parliament, which will commence on January 6, 2017.

Mr. Quarshigah is however hopeful that Mr. Avedzi will be selected for the position.

“The various regional caucuses were asked to submit preferred names for the leadership for the seventh Parliament and then the Volta Regional Caucus submitted the name of James Klutse Avedzi, and I’m sure other regions have done same. It is not as if Richard Qaurshigah is out there insisting that the leadership must be from the Volta Region, no. I believe strongly that all the names that have been submitted by the various regional caucuses will be deliberated upon and there would be a meeting with the MPs elect. I would also imagine that there would be consultation with very important stakeholders such as the outgoing president and leader of the party, council of elders,” he clarified.

One other nam that has come up strongly for the position includes Haruna Iddrisu, MP for Tamale Central.

Mike Oquaye is next Speaker 

The NPP on the other side per information available to citifmonline.com, will select Professor Mike Aaron Oquaye, a former Member of Parliament for the Dome-Kwabenya constituency as next Speaker of Parliament, whilst Minority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, will become the Majority Leader.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonlin.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post NDC Volta Caucus pushes Avedzi for Minority Leader appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

CHAG instructed all of its 183 member institutions to withhold its services from NHIS card holders since the Authority was indebted to CHAG to the tune of 50 million cedis.

The decision greatly affected patients in the rural hospitals who depended on these mission hospitals for health care delivery.

A joint press statement issued by CHAG and NHIA however, indicated that “based on the above understandings, CHAG has agreed that services to NHIS cardholders be restored by CHAG member institutions throughout the country with immediate effect”

Both parties further indicated that they had resolved to facilitate the payment of delayed claims for March, 2014 saying “the NHIA will thereafter work with CHAG to define a claims payment time lag that ensures certainty of payments taking into account current constraints and bearing in mind the legally mandated reimbursement period of 90 days”

Click here to read statement by CHAG and NHIA

By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The post Mission hospitals to restore services to NHIS cardholders appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.