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The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has directed the management of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) to refund GH₵123,577.44 within two weeks into state coffers.

The amount is said to be in respect of some items purchased by the hospital but which could not be accounted for.

At its sitting yesterday, the committee also directed the authorities of the Pantang Nursing and Midwifery Training School (NMTS) to liaise with the International Police Organisation (INTERPOL) to help trace a former tutor of the school, Afia Nyarkoa, now domiciled abroad, to refund GH₵59,000 as unearned salary.

Korle-Bu

On the KBTH, the Chairman of the PAC, Mr James Klutse Avedzi, also asked the Office of the Auditor-General (A-G) to report back to the committee with regard to the directive given, with evidence showing that the hospital had refunded the money to the Consolidated Fund.

The committee is probing some infractions cited in the 2018 Auditor-General’s (A-G’s) report against ministries, departments and agencies.

Infractions

The KBTH was found to have outstanding payment vouchers (PVs) worth GH₵123,577.44 from procurements made without alternative quotations.

Mr Avedzi said the heads of the units where the goods were procured had to be tasked with the responsibility to refund the money, as they were also part of the management.
 
The Gynaecology Department was also found to have procured medical equipment worth GH₵109,200, without going through competitive procurement.

Response

In his response, the acting Director of Finance at the hospital, Mr Lucas Amewuda, said the items procured were emergency equipment needed for surgery, hence the decision to go for sole sourcing to purchase them.

He said the necessary documents on the items purchased had been submitted to the auditors, pending verification.

Kaneshie Polyclinic

When it got to the turn of the Kaneshie Polyclinic, the committee made reference to part of the A-G’s report which indicated that there was a dispute over an amount of GH₵70,751 between the polyclinic and its bankers.

That amount, collected from December 2016 to December 2017 as fees from patients on behalf of the clinic by the bank, did not reflect in the accounts of the facility.

The Director of Finance of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Mr Mustapha Hamidu, who responded on behalf of the clinic, told the PAC that the issue was a long-standing one, and that steps had been taken to resolve it.

He added that although records from the bank showed that all payments had been done, the hospital’s records told a different story.

He said the bank and the GHS had reached a road map on how best to resolve the issue.

Pantang school

Giving details about the Pantang case, Mr Avedzi said a team from the school, led by the Principal, Ms Mercy Adzo Kporku, appeared before the PAC to answer for some infractions cited by the A-G.

Ms Kporku, in her response, said there had been correspondence between her and the tutor that led to a refund of GH₵10,000, leaving a balance of GH₵59,000, but since then efforts to retrieve the rest of the money had proved futile, as she had lost touch with the tutor, who now lived abroad.

She said the administrator at the time, Mr Bertrand Yabane, who validated the salaries of the separated staff, no longer worked with the institution.

Ga South Health Directorate

When the Ga South Municipal Health Directorate appeared before the committee, it was revealed that eight former members of staff had their salaries, to the tune of GH₵55,246, paid into their accounts.

Four of them have so far refunded the money to the directorate, with an outstanding balance of GH₵36,682.29.

Representatives from the directorate told the committee that letters, along with the pictures of the former members of staff who had travelled out of the country, had been given to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service.

They said the Ga South Municipal Office of the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) was also working with the directorate to identify and locate those still in Ghana or their family members to help in the retrieval of those unearned salaries.

Mampong Centre

The Mampong Centre for Plant Medicine also had eight of its staff receiving unearned salaries to the tune of GH₵11,067 after being separated from the centre.

The Head of Finance at the centre, Mr Samuel Odame, in his response, said five out of the eight had passed on, while one of the three alive was bedridden.

He told the committee that so far GH₵2,500 has been retrieved, while efforts were being made for the outstanding balance to be paid into state coffers.