Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has attributed persistent financial irregularities across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to poor documentation and weak record-keeping practices.
Chairperson of the Committee, Abena Osei Asare, warned that billions of cedis continue to leak due to avoidable administrative lapses.
Speaking after the public sitting to consider the Auditor-General’s Special Audit Report on Government Outstanding Claims and Commodities as at December 31, 2024, the PAC Chair blames poor documentation for financial leakages in MDAs, describing it as a fundamental weakness in public financial management.
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According to her, despite the existence of the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), many public officials fail to input accurate and timely data, thereby undermining its effectiveness.
“If we can keep proper documents and records, we will go a long way to block the huge leakages that we see,” the Chair noted.
The Committee revealed instances where huge sums of money—running into billions of Ghana cedis—were paid to contractors, particularly within the Ministries of Energy and Roads, yet these claims were resubmitted for payment.
The Committee blamed poor documentation for the situation because institutions lacked records to confirm that payments had already been made.
This gap, the Committee observed, makes it difficult to detect duplication and exposes the public purse to significant losses.
Hon Abena Osei Asare emphasised that GIFMIS remains a critical tool for addressing these challenges if properly utilised.
She urged the Ministry of Finance to enforce strict compliance, ensuring all MDAs transact through the system and consistently upload accurate data.
Citing an example, the Chair noted that officials from the Ministry of Environment were able to adequately respond to audit queries because they had consistently updated records on GIFMIS.
On concerns about officials absent during the period of infractions appearing before the Committee, the Chair clarified that proper documentation would eliminate reliance on individuals.
“If the data is in the system, anyone can speak to it,” the Chair explained, adding that the Committee will continue to summon relevant officers where necessary.
Addressing concerns about conflicting testimonies, the Chair warned that officials who provide false information under oath could face legal consequences.
While emphasising fairness and due process, the Committee noted that sanctions, guided by law, would be applied where wrongdoing is established. She, however, reiterated that the primary objective is not punishment but reform.
The Committee underscored that its work is not politically motivated but aimed at strengthening public financial management and restoring confidence in government transactions.
The Chair stressed that fixing the poor documentation and record-keeping anomaly could eliminate up to 70 percent of the issues raised in Auditor-General reports.
The Committee assured that its report on the findings will be ready when Parliament reconvenes, following additional hearings in Tamale and Kumasi for officials who failed to appear or provide adequate responses.