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The Auditor General has uncovered yet another jaw dropping cases of misappropriation of public funds, fraudulent transfers, illegal payments and receipts of public funds by Ghana's public officials home and abroad.

Despite complaints of limited resources to cater for the country's power, health and education sectors there appeared to be enough money flowing into private pockets of public officials in Ghana's missions abroad, ministries, departments and agencies.

GYEEDA

The Ghana Youth Employment and Development Agency (GYEEDA) which became a notorious vehicle for corruption once again featured prominently in the 2014 Auditor General's report.

Even though the Agency was restructured and its name changed from the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) to the GYEEDA following the massive corruption scandal, the culture of corruption still remained the same.

The Auditor General found that 126 staff who could not successfully pass interviews for placement as public officials were nonetheless migrated as employees of GYEEDA and paid a total amount of ¢895,536.18 as salaries between November 2012 to December 2013.

The Auditor General is recommending that the amount wrongfully paid to the 126 staff must be retrieved.

Ghana Missions

The 2014 report revealed that a whopping $160,640 and £29,332 being revenue collected by officials of the Ghana Mission in Lusaka were misappropriated by the Accounting Officer, Mr Thomas A Amoak.

The story was not different in the Luanda Mission.

"Our review of cash management of the Luanda Mission showed that a total of €64,655.00, US$96,094.00 and CFA 4,435,000.00 being consular fees collected between April and November 2014 could not be accounted for by Mr King Pratt Ainooson and Madam Mandy," the report stated.

The report also showed that some officials at the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General were not just, in fact fraudulent, in handling public finances.

"A principal Accountant at the Registrar-General's Department, Tahiru Haruna, fraudulently transferred a total amount of US$163,510 from the foreign exchange account of the Department into the bank account of his private company, Green Zone Construction Co Ltd with Access Bank and has failed to refund the amount," the report said, with the Auditor General recommending a recovery with interest of the dubious transfer and the prosecution of Haruna.

The Ministry of Defence it was revealed was owing its suppliers- Goil Ghana Ltd, and Total Ghana Ltd, a whopping 6,130,494.12.00 and 123,911.40 in fuel used to run the Ministry.

The Auditor General is urging the Defence Ministry to impress upon the Finance Ministry to release funds for the payment of the debts.

Other institutions cited for financial impropriety include, the Ghana Meteorological Agency, Ministry of Land and Forestry and Mines.