Two cashiers of the Ghana Judicial Service have been directed to contact the Clerk to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament in their own interests over court revenues they have failed to account for.
Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, James Klutse Avedzi who gave the order said, “If somebody is listening and knows them, convey this message to them. But if they refuse to come we will get them. Yes, we will get them.”
The two, stationed at Twifo Praso and the Wamfie District Magistrate Courts are said to have pilfered GH¢ 91,796 in total.
This came up last Friday when the Judicial Service took its turn at the PAC sitting, which is considering the 2018 Report of the Auditor-General on accounts of ministries, departments and other agencies (MDAs).
At the Twifo Praso Magistrate Court, the cashier, Clemence Animabo is said to have collected GH¢240,046.10 between August 2016 and December 2017 but deposited only GH¢148,287.10 and embezzled GH¢71,759.
After audits exposed the crime, he was interdicted and arrested and he paid GH¢10,492 of the money. He, however, absconded after he was granted police bail.
The cashier at the Wamfie District Magistrate Court James Twum, on the other hand, collected an amount of GH¢64,444.00 from 31 August 2017 to 15 August 2018.
He deposited only GH¢44,407.00 and bolted after audits of the account revealed he had embezzled GH¢20,037.00.
The Chairman charged the Judicial Service to take steps to protect the revenue being generated at the various courts throughout the country since most of the reported infractions in the Auditor-General’s report have to do with the unaccounted revenue.
Madam Vera Tachie who represented the Judicial Secretary at the PAC sitting indicated the Service has indeed instituted measures to reduce such infractions to the barest minimum.
These, she disclosed, include constant audits by internal and head office auditors and the bonding of new cashiers as part of their conditions of service.
She indicated the Service has also stepped up its monitoring and also arranged collection banks to reduce the number of cashiers holding cash.
She, however, stated that in places where the collection banks do not have branches, the Service still have to contend with cashiers keeping monies they have collected.
Source: Mypublisher24.com
