Have you also accounted for your fuel - Allotey Jacobs goes hard on Auditor General after judges' vehicle exposé

Former Central Regional Chairman for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Bernard Allotey Jacobs, has raised concerns about portions of the Auditor General’s 2021 report.

According to Allotey Jacob, the Auditor General failed to account for his own department which includes his fuel.

He however wondered why Auditor General will expose the judiciary as they are the institution that will uphold

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“…Mr Auditor General, you have not done well, you didn’t do well at all, has he also accounted for the fuel he uses in and out? Yes, I know we have one of the finest auditor but you see when a situation comes like this and you bring yours on board and we not worrying the very institution that will uphold our laws and democracy in this country. He didn’t do well at.”

Top judges paid as low as GH¢7,509 for auction cars

The Auditor-General cited 19 past and current judges of Ghana’s superior courts for acquiring state vehicles – a move that contravenes Regulation 158 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378).

The said law, Regulation 158, provides that the Principal Spending Officer of a covered entity shall obtain the prior written approval of the Minister for the transfer, exchange, sale, donation, contribution-in-kind, trust and any other disposal of any vehicles of the covered entity.

It further indicates that any such disposal, lease and other action referred to in Sub-regulation 1 that is made without the written approval of the Minister, is void.

However, the 2021 Auditor-General's report stated that the vehicles were “auctioned by the Service for GH¢1,023,507.96 without approval from the Minister of Finance.”

Some of the judges who were found culpable of the law included recently retired Supreme Court Justices, Yaw Appau, E.K Mensah and Julius Ansah - all of whom were found to have acquired state-owned vehicles contrary to the provisions of this law.

The Auditor-General has recommended the nullification of the auction of vehicles to the judges and wants the vehicles recovered.

“In the absence of approval from the Minister for Finance, we recommended that the auction should be nullified, and the vehicles recovered,” the report stated.

NYA/KPE