An audit report of the financial management of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), covering the period between January and December 2020, has indicted the management team for mismanagement.
Following, the KMA stands the risk of losing an amount of GH¢500,000 which could have funded other projects for the benefit of the entire Metropolis, the report of March 19, 2021 has revealed.
The Regional Auditor, Mr. Alhassan Z. Mahama, an Assistant Auditor General, who endorsed the report for the attention of the Auditor General, the Regional Minister, Regional Coordinating Director, the Metro Chief Executive and the Metro Internal Auditor, disclosed that the former Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso, Kennedy Kwasi Kankam, the finance officer, Daniel Kofi Kankam and the Metropolitan Coordinating Director, Samuel Donkor transferred a total amount of GH¢500,000 from the MP’s Constituency Labour Project Fund and the Social Investment Fund (SIF) to the Suspense Account at the Krofrom branch of Absa Bank Limited.
The amount was for onward distribution to 430 people on loan recoverable by August 2020, which has not been recovered as a January 2021. The Auditor has, therefore,recommended that the MP and the two KMA officials, as well as the Absa bank, should take steps to recover the amount of GH¢ 500,000 into the MPs Common Fund Account.
The report explained its position in the fact that, upon the instructions of the ex-MP, the former Finance Officer, Mr. Kankam and the Metro Coordinating Director, Mr Donkor, in May 2019 transferred GHC500,000 from the MPs Constituency Labour Projects fund and SIF for disbursement to 430 persons in his constituency as loans for recovery by August 2020.
However, in spite of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoE) committing the bank to recover the loan at a service charge of GH¢9,675.00 atGH¢22.50 on each of the 430 persons, NO REVCOVERY HAS been done as at January 2021.
The MoU was prepared by the KMA lawyer, Patrick Adu Poku, Esq. on August 26, 2019 and signed by Ms Ivy Agbemadzo, a former bank manager of the Krofrom branch of Absa bank.
The Audit Service stated that independent investigations it conducted indicated that the KMA management team had no document to substantiate its claim that it had notified Absa Bank Ghana Limited to begin recovery, hence the recommendation for the bank to ensure recovery of the amount.
The audit report, indicated that the KMA management has not responded to the findings and audit observations and failed to respond with the 30 days as required by section 29 (2) of the Audit Service Act 2000 (Act 564).
In the circumstance, the Auditor-General could direct that emoluments and allowances of persons who flout the directive to comply with the requirement to respond to audit queries should be withheld.
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