The Auditor-General’s 2020 Report on the Public Accounts of Ghana – Public Boards, Corporations and Other Statutory Institutions for the year ended 31 December 2020 indicate that the Ghana Free Zones Authority (GFZA) invested a whopping GH¢17,342,613.97 in three Savings and Loans companies that eventually lost their licenses.
The companies were First Trust Savings and Loans, Ideal Finance and All-Time Capital who had their licenses withdrawn by their regulatory institutions.
According to the Auditor-General, the recoverability of the GFZA’s investment with these entities remains in doubt.
“The revocation of the licenses by Bank of Ghana and Security and Exchange Commission resulted in this anomaly.”
“The Authority may lose the investment including the accrued interest,” the Auditor-General said.
Management, in response to recommendation by the Auditor-General to contact the receiver to attempt to recover the investments including the accrued interest, said it has taken all the necessary steps required to have all funds validated with the receiver.
Accounts, it said, have already been opened at GCB following the receiver’s directive and some disbursements have been received into the accounts but indicated this is below expectation.
Management, the Report said, would continue to engage the receiver for the possible recovery of all the invested funds.
The GFZA also paid an amount of US$100,000 as legal fees, in accordance with arbitration judgement resulting from a land case the Authority had with A-Z Petroleum Ghana Ltd but failed to withhold 7.5% of the US$100,000 amounting to US$7,500 as withholding tax payable to GRA.
This anomaly, the Report said, could be attributed to a failure of the accountant to deduct the withholding tax and thus deprived the Government of revenue to undertake developmental projects.
The Authority, it said, should be liable for penalties
Source: MyPublisher24.com
