A co-opted member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Samuel Atta Akyea, has said the uncooperative attitude of witnesses appearing before them in connection with a 94 million euros judgment debt payment to Construction Pioneers (CP) is bothersome.
Several public officials including two former attorney generals, who have already appeared before the PAC, have told the Albert Kan Dapaah-led probing unit that they are either unaware of issues being raised or have little knowledge to aid the committee�s work.
Hon. Akyea said what seems like a collective mind-set of almost all the officials appearing before them is dragging the PAC�s progress and is sending the erroneous impression that members are not on top of issues.
�The committee is [at] a tortoise pace,� the lawmaker told Accra-based Joy FM. on Thursday. �Some are not behaving like they are in an institution and passing on the bulk. Some are pretending.�
�The Attorney General is aware of what is at stake.�
The NPP MP for Akim Abuakwa South said �due to lack of institutional memory� in Ghana, it will be prudent to grant the witnesses more time to study the case in order to give credible testimonies. �But, they should not pretend,� he opined.
�The committee assumes that those the ministries bring forward are aware of the case. We�ll afford them the opportunity to go and study the document then we can have a meaningful engagement.
�I hold a humble view that if we are not careful we will say the committee is at fault, but it�s the committee�s view that those who come before it know of the reasons they are coming,� Hon. Akyea remarked.
The Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative, Mr. Vitus Azeem, supported Mr. Akyea�s stance saying the �witnesses are frustrating the Public Accounts Committee.�
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