MINISTER TO DISCIPLINE MDCES FOR LATENESS (BACK PAGE, NOV 12)

THE Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, has decided to take disciplinary action against 17 out of the 21 municipal/district chief executives (M/DCEs) in the region for reporting late at a public function.
The M/DCEs, together with heads of ministries, departments and other top officials of the assemblies as well as members of the Audit Report Implementation Committee (ARIC) were supposed to report at the New Capital View Hotel, Koforidua, at 8 a.m. on Monday for a sensitisation seminar on auditing.
But by 10.30 a.m. only four of the M/DCEs, namely Messrs Joseph Omari (Kwahu South), Napoleon Amoako (Birim North), Joseph Tetteh Angmor (Upper Manya) and Tom Budu Akyemansa and a handful of the other participants were present.
That angered Mr Ofosu Ampofo, who said he had taken the issue very seriously and would punish the district political heads, although he did not specify the nature of the disciplinary action.
“You are being paid with the taxpayer’s money and given all the necessary support, including vehicles to be prompt at public functions, and I will not take any explanation for not being able to come at the appropriate time”.
He then directed the officials registering the participants to provide him with the list of the M/DCEs who reported late for the necessary sanctions.
Later in an address, Mr Ofosu Ampofo asked ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) as well as the municipal/district assemblies which had not yet constituted ARICs to do so in order to ensure that recommendations contained in all audit reports in their respective organisations would be implemented.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo, who dwelt extensively on public auditing and how it affects the operations of the assemblies, expressed hope that the MDAs/MMDAs would give ARICs unrestricted access to documents and employees as well as the necessary administrative and logistical support to do their work.
He also cautioned the MDAs/MMDAs to be guided by the principles of probity, transparency and accountability which the Government stood for, adding that any public service manager who mismanaged the affairs of his or her organisation would face the full rigours of the law.
A resource person, Mr Richard Ntim of the Institute of Internal Auditors, Ghana, asked the participants to follow laid-down regulations in auditing to avoid being sent to committees for questioning.