Punitive actions must follow findings of audit reports – Tax expert
Dr Abdallah Ali-Nakyea is a Tax expert and lecturer
• The audit report for 2020 has been released
Read full article• A tax lecturer, Dr. Ali-Nakyea, wants those found culpable to be accordingly punished
• All financial irregularities committed within the year in perspective added up to GH¢12.8 billion
Findings of reports from the Auditor-General’s department should be accorded more stringent measures than currently exists, a tax lecturer has urged.
Dr. Abdallah Ali-Nakyea explained that it is has become a tradition for findings from the annual reports from the department not to be given the needed punitive actions and that should stop, citinewsroom.com has reported.
He added that instead of turning the release of the annual report into a mere ritual, prosecutions in particular to be meted out to offenders from these reports.
“I have always indicated that, with the office of the Special Prosecutor, I thought we would be able to rationalize some of these infractions and get him to investigate and prosecute,” he said.
Dr. Ali-Nayea added that with the power to surcharge vested in the office of the A-G, such sanctions should be easily possible so that persons found culpable of financial malfeasance will be guarded against such actions in the future.
He explained that the country will then “be giving meaning to the audit report” when the right mechanisms are used to retrieve these monies.
“…else it becomes an annual ritual that does not bring money back into government coffers. We need the revenue that has been misapplied,” He continued.
In the 2020 audit report, it was established that financial irregularities committed by various statutory institutions totaled GH¢12.8 billion.
