Protecting public purse: PAC shows way

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament last Monday ordered the arrest and detention of two finance officers of the Akontombra District Assembly after they had been accused of ‘trying to deceive the committee’.

Many a Ghanaian, we believe, is taken aback by the directive by the committee because he or she is not used to such actions in our body politic.

For some time now, the PAC has been accused of barking but not biting when reviewing the Auditor-General’s annual report on ministries, departments and agencies, with the committee arguing that it does not have the power to arrest and prosecute public officials who fall foul of the corruption act.

For us at the Daily Graphic, the directive by the PAC last Monday gives a ray of hope and is an indication that our institutions are beginning to bite and that they could be effective in executing their mandates if they decide to do so.

We note with satisfaction that the directive by the PAC comes on the heels of certain actions taken by the Auditor-General to enforce his duties as outlined by the 1992 Constitution.

We believe that if state institutions, including the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary, decide to act independently of one another and follow the rules, as enshrined in the Constitution, we will make Ghana sit in the comity of nations with strong functional systems and structures.

This, we believe will go a long way to ensure that the principle of checks and balances is working.

For instance, it is for good reasons that the Standing Orders of Parliament precludes an MP from the political party in power from chairing the PAC.

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This is not to say that the orders of the Chairman of the PAC do not have the support of MPs whose party is in government.

While commending the PAC for such a bold decision, we believe that we should not stop at just applauding.

As citizens and a country, we must endeavour to encourage and embolden our state institutions to execute their mandates without fear or favour in the interest of good, open and accountable governance.

Many Ghanaians have, at one time or another, called one public officer or another to intervene in situations where they need help. We have called known police officers to intervene in road traffic cases or seek the help of the police for the release of suspects from custody or for a case to be ‘killed’ for our selfish and parochial interests.

When applying for passports, drivers’ licences and birth certificates or seeking medicare and other services, many of us seek interventions, so that we can go through the processes unhindered.

As a matter of fact, we go through protocol services when we meet other people seeking the same services in a queue.

The Daily Graphic believes that service providers must rise to the occasion and deliver on their mandates, so that all of us will be proud to feel a sense of belonging to our beloved Ghana.

We believe that the directive by the PAC should be an eye-opener to all other committees of Parliament and state institutions to sit up and let the nation experience their authority.

For instance, the Government Assurance Committee of Parliament should be able to come out at the end of every year to tell Ghanaians which committee of Parliament or the government failed to meet its obligations in respect of its promises to Ghanaians.

For the PAC to be taken much more seriously in the fight against corruption, it must be seen to be fair, firm and decisive.

More often than not, the PAC has gone about its constitutionally mandated duties with kid gloves. But the move it made last Monday will definitely send the right signals for the committee’s work to be taken much more seriously.

Once offending public officers are made to face the laws of the country, it will go a long way to protect the public purse.