The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has instructed the District Chief Executive of Wa East District Assembly, Mr. S.K Mahama to immediately process payments of pending educational support and procurement of development project requests from the Member of Parliament for Wa East Constituency, Dr. Godfred Seidu Jasaw, from the MPs share of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF).
This stern directive was made by the Chair of the PAC, James Klutse Avedzi, when the DCE, together with the District Coordinating Director, Finance and Internal Audit officers took their turn before the Committee on 22nd April, 2024, in the ongoing 2022 Public Account Committee hearing in Sunyani.
It was revealed that the MP, Dr. Jasaw had since January 2022, issued several letters to the District Assembly for the payment of fees from the MPs share of the DACF to needy but brilliant students of the Wa East District.
Similar letters were also issued by the MP for the construction of clinics, rehabilitation of schools, drilling of boreholes among others for various communities in the constituency.
Reports from the constituency indicates that, several attempts have been made by the MP and some prominent chiefs of the district to get the DCE to sanction expenditure at the MP’s request for constituents.
This has however proved futile as the DCE insensitively declined payments, depriving these vulnerable school children and communities the needed support and development.
The DCE, in an attempt to justify his defiance before the Committee, indicated that such requests have not come to his attention and that he turned away some citizens who followed up on their letters because he couldn’t authenticate the source of such letters.
Contrary to this assertion by the DCE, the Coordinating Director attested to the Assembly receiving letters of requests from the MP and forwarding them to the DCE’s office for authorization of payments.
This has deprived many students since 2022 from continuing their education, leaving some of them with no option but to defer their programmes of study and also stalled several projects in many communities.
The Chairman of the Committee stated that the MP remains the sole actor in determining the usage of the MP’s share of the DACF, reiterating the need for the DCE to comply with requests of the MP.
He further directed that, quarterly reports on the expenditure of the MP’s share of the Common Fund be made by the Assembly to the MP, as this forms part of the regulation in the disbursement of the DACF.
Indeed, the non-compliance of the DCE for Wa East to allow for payments to deserving constituents may be considered as a deliberate refusal, driven by partisanship at the expense of development.
The chairman commended the MP, Dr. Godfred Seidu Jasaw for using his share of the Common Fund to support education and execute developmental interventions in his constituency.
Source:Fiilafmonline/JoyNews
