By Albert Futukpor, GNA
Gambaga (NE/R), Nov. 21, GNA - Senior staff of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies have been advised to be diligent in the discharge of their duties and avoid yielding to pressures from politicians to circumvent rules and regulations to approve projects.
Madam Belinda Bukari, Senior Planning Officer at the North East Regional Coordinating Council, who gave the advice, said there is the need for the senior staff to uphold their integrity as technocrats and insist that the rules and regulations are strictly followed to prevent infractions.
She said "politicians will go and you will remain at the Assembly to be surcharged by the Auditor-General because you sign the major documents.
She was speaking during a town-hall meeting organised by the Centre for Active Learning and Integrated Development (CALID) at Gambaga to present findings of a performance audit conducted by the Ghana Audit Service (GAS) in 2018 on two projects executed by the East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly (EMMA) from 2014 to 2017.
It was attended by officials of EMMA, citizens groups and some civil society organisations.
This formed part of the Ghana's Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms (GSAM) project being implemented by OXFAM, CARE International, and ISODEC with funding from USAID to strengthen citizens' oversight of capital development projects to improve on local government transparency, accountability and performance.
The projects included a three-unit classroom block with ancillary facilities at Nalerigu Health Assistants Training School (HATS) and a three-unit classroom block with ancillary facilities at Nagboo.
The performance audit report, which was presented by Mr Benjamin Danso, Principal Auditor at GAS, showed that whilst only the HATS project was captured in the District Medium Term Development Plan, there was also a significant difference between the estimated cost and the contract sum of the two projects.
It revealed that the Engineer and the Planning Officer of the EMMA were part of the panel to evaluate the tenders for the projects and were also directly involved in the award of the contract.
It also revealed that whilst the contractor for the Nagboo project did not provide a performance guarantee before undertaking the contract, the contractors also used sub-standard materials and the projects were not executed according to specification.
The report recommended the need for the EMMA to adhere to the rules and regulations to award contracts as well as need for the Engineer of EMMA to increase supervision of projects to ensure quality of the projects.
Based on the performance audit, a scorecard generated by GSAM project implementers, citizens groups and GAS, gave the EMMA an overall score of 50 per cent as assessment of the projects in the areas of project initiation and planning, procurement and contracting, execution, and project benefits to the people.
Madam Bukari described the situation at the EMMA as captured in the GAS report as appalling adding that there is the need for the Coordinating Director, the Engineer and Planning Officer to work to ensure that such a practice did not occur again.
She told them not to succumb to the pressures of politicians to do the wrong things, which she said would negatively affect the development of the Assembly.
Mr Bukari Basintale, East Mamprusi Municipal Coordinating Director, said those who committed the infractions were no longer at the Assembly adding that measures have been instituted to ensure that such practice did not recur.
Mr Mohammed Awal Sumani Bapio, Executive Director of CALID, commended the citizens groups for their keen interest in the affairs of the Assembly, and said it would improve on its transparency and accountability efforts.
GNA
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