Ghana’s Auditor General to withhold salaries of public servants for refusing to respond to queries

This is due to reasons that these public servants have failed to respond to audit observations or queries within 30 days at the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

The Auditor-General, Mr Daniel Yaw Domelevo gave the warning at the Eighth Annual Accountability Lectures and Launching of the 2017 Audit Financial Year of the Ghana Audit Service in Accra last Monday, March 11, 2019.

The objective of the accountability lecture is to whip up the need to incorporate the principles of integrity, transparency, probity and accountability in the management of public funds in national discourse towards the achievement of the national development goals.

Mr Domelevo who was working in accordance with the objectives said his department will no longer tolerate delays from public servants who have failed to respond to audit observations or queries within the said 30 days.

“We’re no longer going to tolerate such delays as we’re going to do so in accordance with the law.”

Section 29 of the Audit Service Act in the country provides that MDAs have 30 days from the date they receive the audit observation to reply.

The Auditor-General said that if individuals and organisations continue to give his departments excuses, their salaries will be locked until the finally respond to the queries.

He said, “We’re going to lock the salaries of anyone who fails to reply within the 30 days as provided by Section 29 (2), and thereafter if the MDA fails to provide the reply with the necessary supporting documents, we will disallow the expenditure and surcharge the officer concerned,” adding that, “We will stop at nothing to exercise our authority to bring to book MDAs that frustrate the conduct of an audit’’.