Get tough on public officials: Investment banker
The government has been urged to take a strong stance against public officials who approve projects which costs have been unduly inflated only to cause financial loss to the state.
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It has been also advised to blacklist all companies, individuals and their beneficiaries who are found to be involved in the execution of projects that are over-priced.
An astute investment banker and analyst, Dr Samuel Ankrah, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of GAM-ANK Group, made the call when he shared some thoughts about how the government could take more proactive steps to discourage the misuse and abuse of the public purse.
According to him, “unless these punitive steps are taken to protect the public purse from such characters within the country, the economy which is already bleeding from acts of financial malfeasance in many public places will collapse entirely.”
His call comes on the back of revelations at the Public Accounts Committee hearings in Accra where public officials with the connivance of some private companies have milked the country of some billions of Ghana cedis.
Apart from the Metro Mass bus-branding scandal and the recent corruption practices within the Accountant General’s Department regarding the printing of vehicle roadworthy stickers among other things, there are also reports of serious acts of corruption in many other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Consequences of govt inaction
The serious financial leakages which continue to plague the nation has forced labour unions to stand against any attempts by the government to raise additional taxes from the already over-taxed few Ghanaians.
They argued that while they sacrificed to pay these taxes, the government sat aloof to allow some individuals and companies to defraud the state.
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At last week’s mammoth nationwide demonstration by organised labour, some of the workers acknowledged efforts by the government to undertake some development projects but were visibly appalled by the figures mentioned as being the cost of some of the projects.
According to them, it was only fair and prudent for the government to deal mercilessly with all those culprits to serve as deterrent to others with the intention to milk the state.