How Akufo Addo Can Source Funds - P. C. Appiah-Ofori

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Created on Friday, 28 September 2012 00:00

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28 September 2012

How Akufo Addo Can Source Funds - P. C. Appiah-Ofori

Mr Paul Collins Appiah-Ofori, New Patriotic Party Member (NPP) for Asikuma/Odoben/Brakwa, on Friday said the 2011 pay roll fraud together with pay roll expenditures cost Ghana GHC1.4 billion.

He said this is one of a few sources from which Nana Akufo Addo, Presidential Candidate of the NPP, tap to finance the free senior high schools concept.

Mr Appiah-Ofori said this in a press release on sources of funds available to Nana Akufo-Addo to finance free senior high school in Ghana. He said universally, there were two sources of revenue to the state which are actual revenue in all forms accruing to the states and the savings resulting from prevention of fraudulent and corrupt practices.

“If Nana puts measures that would curb fraudulent practices in the public service and in the private sector, he will generate huge sums of income to finance the free senior high school education in addition to a host of other national projects resulting in improved quality of life for the people of Ghana.”

Mr Appiah-Ofori mentioned that in 2001 during the NPP regime, the former Minister of Finance conducted head count of the public servants and found that there were over 6,000 people who had their names on the pay rolls prepared in the Controller and Accountant General’s Department and received monthly salaries while they did not exist as workers of the State.

According to him, the state made savings of over GH17billion reported by the Auditor General in the form of approved budget amounted to cedis 5,497,511,000,000.00, Actual Expenditure was GHC 5,480,505, and Favourable Variance (savings) was at GHC17,005,335,

Mr Appiah-Offori said the fraud being perpetrated against the state was still going on, as he alleged that smuggling of crude oil drilled in the Western Region of Ghana was on-going resulting in heavy losses of revenue to the state.

He said his efforts to get the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill amended was not appreciated until the passing of the Former President John Evans Atta Mills adding, as the situation is now, the country’s crude oil can easily be smuggled out of Ghana without let or hindrance resulting in loss of revenue to Ghana.

Mr Appiah-Offori said immediately Nana Akuffo Addo assumes office, he will put in place measures that will prevent pay roll fraud, under invoicing of imports and sale of finished goods, smuggling of crude oil through the use of oil tankers without measuring gauges as being used by the NDC government and a host of other financial malpractices.

According to him, Nana Addo would direct the deployment of the Ghana Navy to the oil field area to prevent smuggling of the crude oil and loss of revenue.

The results would be that large sums of money hitherto lost to the state shall be retained to be used to finance the free senior high school education adding, therefore those who doubt Nana Akuffo Addo’s ability to make the SHS free should be silent and watch.

Source: GNA/Ghana