The Auditor-General (A-G)’s report has asked the Director of Finance at Cape Coast Technical University (CCTU) to retrieve an overdue staff advances totalling GH¢71, 475.93 from officers without further delay, by deducting it at source from their salaries to avoid sanctions.
Management should also desist from granting advances to officers with outstanding advances.
This directive cameup at the Public Accounts Committee(PAC)sitting in Takoradi on Monday, to consider the A-G’S report on the public accounts of Ghana Technical Universities and Polytechnics for the period ending December 31, 2019.
The report, however, noted, that a total of GH¢ 24,566.31 had been recovered leaving an outstanding of GH¢ 46,909 without providing evidence for verification.
CCU, A-G reported, also owed utility bills amounting to GH¢1,340,845.31 comprising GH¢895,815.67 to Electricity Company of Ghana and GH¢445,029.64 owed to Ghana Water Company.
The anomaly was caused by management’s failure to pursue the government through National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) for the payment of bills.
The Director of Finance, Mr Kwabena Owusu, and team responded that they had forwarded same to NCTE.
On the salary advances, he assured that new mechanisms including provision of three guarantors, had been devised, to check abuse and leakages.
Meanwhile, Takoradi Technical University (TTU), according to the A-G, also had infractions on unearned salaries totalling GH¢188,600.40 in contravention of Public Financial Management Regulations 2019.
Reviewing the payroll, the report discovered that GH¢162, 230.11was paid to Mr John Asante, senior lecturer and Frederick Sam-Inkoom, assistant lecturer, from January 2018 to February 2019 and December 2019 respectively, even though their appointments were terminated in January 2018 due to vacation of post.
Also, Maxwell Amoako, a senior security guard, was paid GH¢26,370 as unearned salary for the period October 2016 to January 2019 following his resignation on September 30, 2016.
Furthermore, rent not collected amounting to GH¢201,027 was also detected during the audit and that, 56 officers occupying the University’s bungalows were not paying the prevailing government rate at 10 percent as basic rent by conditions of service.
Rent paid by officers ranged from GH¢25 to GH¢160 leading to total rent revenue loss of GH¢171,721.30, the report said, adding that, 22 out of the 56 officers defaulted their rent payment to the tune of GH¢29,716.60.
The underpayment of rent happed as result of management’s decision to disregard the provisions in the conditions of service and management failure to put in place effective mechanism to ensure efficient collection of rent also led to the payment of default.
On the rent, Director of Finance, TTU, Dr Gabriel Sam Arhinful, said management had recovered GH¢6,710.15 leaving an outstanding of GH¢194,727.75 and that the statutory 10 percent rent deduction from beneficiaries salaries had been done.
Concerning unearned salaries, he said, letters were written to respective banks of former staff to transfer same to Controller and Accountant General’s Department account at the Bank of Ghana.
Subsequently, the termination letter of Mr John Asante was written officially to terminate his appointment andto hold salary until otherwise directed, Dr Arhinful added.
FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, TAKORADI
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