Deputy Ranking Member on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and MP for Keta, Kwami Dzudzorli Gakpey, has called for the prosecution of civil servants cited in the Auditor-General’s Report for embezzling state funds, arguing that mere refunds are not enough to deter corruption.
His comments follow the case of Kafui Kpokpo, a former accounting officer at Ghana’s mission in the Czech Republic, who refunded €31,600 after being cited for financial misconduct.
Speaking to Channel One News, Gakpey stressed that simply allowing offenders to return stolen money without facing legal sanctions sends the wrong signal.
“Time and time again, corruption is alluded to politicians. But civil servants and public service workers are embezzling a lot of money. And then what do you do? Ask them to refund. When the person refunds the money, how does it deter others? People can have that locus that, at the end of the day, when I embezzle money, they will ask me to refund it. In my personal view, they must be cited for prosecution,” he said.
Meanwhile, PAC Chairperson Abena Osei-Asare cautioned that agencies that fail to provide supporting documents for expenditures flagged in the Auditor-General’s Report would be held personally liable.
“There was an agency that refused to give supporting evidence to the tune of GHS 175,000. Way after the Auditor-General had presented the report, that was when they submitted those documents. We invoked the protocol established by the previous PAC, and so the agency is liable to pay the GHS175,000,” she said.
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