<<Print>>

THE CHIEF director of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, headed by Nana Oye Lithur has told the Sole Commissioner, Justice Yaw Apau of the Judgment Debt Commission that the ministry is cash-strapped and that non-release of their budgetary allocation is hindering their operations. Eric Kwesi Amo-Himbson, the chief director of the Gender Ministry told the commission when he appeared that throughout 2013, the ministry only got one out of the four releases of its budget. Mr Amo-Himbson made this known to the commission on Monday when he appeared in respect of the non-payment of bills to the former chief director, Valentine Kuuzume after he had petitioned the commission to intervene on his behalf. Earlier, when Mr. Kuuzume appeared before the commission after petitioning it, he said after sacrificinghis pocket money to save government from disgrace and embarrassment, his entitlement has not been paid him since 2007. According to him, �Payments that were due me for the appointment into the civil service as a chief director, and the second aspect has to do with my own funds which I have used to meet the expenses of the ministry just to save embarrassing situations which would have arisen if those expenses of the ministry hadn�t been met have not been paid to me despite persistent efforts to get it.� Asked to brief the commission about his petition, the retired Civil Servant said, �My Lord, I retired from the Ghana Civil Service in December 2009, but before then from 2007 up to 2011 there have been some accumulated claims that were due me before my retirement. I have since approached the ministry (Gender, Children and Social Protection) where I retired from since 2009, but had not been paid.� He told the commission that, though he has made several attempts and several requests persistently he has still not been paid. Asked by Counsel of the commission, Kofi Dometi Sokpor about the quantum of the amount he was reclaiming, he said, �My Lord, the total amount involved in respect of my purse according to the appointment letter from the public service commission match up to GH�6,603.00 and $1,960. And my own funds that I spent to meet government expenses totalled GH�1,810.70.� He prayed the commission to, as a matter of urgency, intervene to ensure that he receives his entitlement since the attitude of the officers at his former ministry is very unbearable. Andrews Kingsley Kojo Kufei, the deputy Controller and Accountant General in charge of Treasury who also appeared on the same matter said they are doing everything humanly possible to expedite action for him to be paid once they get the clearance from the ministry.