Management of Koforidua Technical University (KTU) has been given a 90-day ultimatum to reimburse GHS800,000 in salary-related infractions addressed in the Auditor-General's Report.

Five staff members of the university were cited in the report for receiving salaries for close to two years despite being absent from duty; some were either out of the country or on study leave without legitimate authorization.

Deputy Chairman of the PAC, Samuel Atta Mills, criticized the university for allowing such irregularities to persist and for failing to enforce accountability measures.

He therefore instructed the university to recover the outstanding funds within 90 days or risk funding it from their individual pockets.

“We will make it easier for you. We want you to collect these monies in 90 days. However you do it, with all your lapses and everything, you have guarantors out there. Within 90 days, we want our money,” he ordered.

In addition to KTU's mismanagement of funds, Mr Atta Mills discovered that no  bonds of agreement were signed by three out of the five requiring them to return after their study leave, a situation he described as “a conspiracy to defraud the state.”

“This is government money — our money. GH¢817,000 on separated staff, and yet you cannot contact any of these people or produce a payment plan. It looks to me like planned chaos.”

Meanwhile, KTU's Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor Richard Ohene Asiedu, who appeared before the committee on Thursday, November 6, 2025, explained that efforts have been made by the University to trace the staff members involved.

“We have been making efforts to contact some of the lecturers, who are either out of the country or pursuing studies. So far, out of the total amount owed, the university has been able to recover less than GH¢20,000,” he told the Committee.

But the Committee has, however, expressed grave dissatisfaction with the university's effort towards an issue they see as a case of negligence and weak internal controls.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament resumed hearings weeks ago to interrogate heads of state institutions cited for financial irregularities in the 2024 Auditor-General’s (A-G) Report.

On Monday, November 3, the Ministry of Education and the National Service Scheme appeared before the committee, with other ministries following suit.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Ghana was established under Article 103 of the 1992 Constitution and formally constituted as part of Parliament’s Standing Committees. It has existed since the First Parliament of the Fourth Republic, which began in January 1993.

Its mandate is to review reports presented by the Auditor-General on the public accounts of Ghana, summon ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), as well as state-owned enterprises (SOEs), to explain financial infractions and irregularities, and in some cases, recommend sanctions, recoveries, or referrals for prosecution.

However, since its establishment, PAC has reportedly had no documented record of ensuring prosecution or imprisonment of culprits, though its recommendations can trigger EOCO investigations or action by the Attorney-General.

Over the years, the Committee has engaged several public institutions and their heads over reported financial irregularities, but little to no documentation of penalties has been recorded to serve as a deterrent. It will be recalled that in 2017, PAC recommended the prosecution of officials at the National Sports Authority for misappropriating funds, but no confirmed convictions followed.

Similarly, in 2021, the Committee traced non-existent staff under GETFund and MASLOC, yet no jail terms were recorded. In 2023, PAC recovered GHS12.9 million, but this was through repayments rather than criminal penalties.

Meanwhile, more than GH¢12.9 billion in misappropriated public funds has been retrieved following collaboration between the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Auditor-General’s Department.Addressing the media on Wednesday, October 1, Chairperson of PAC, Abena Osei-Asare, attributed the remarkable recovery to the collective efforts of the Auditor-General’s Department.

“One thing I am clear about is that what we are doing is yielding positive results. We have a report we will look at. Per the work of the Public Accounts Committee, and with the support of the Auditor-General, we have been able to retrieve GH¢12.9 billion. There is a whole report on that which we will be sharing with the public at the right time,” she said.

According to her, the Committee will make the report's details public at the appropriate time. The Committee is scheduled to resume its sittings on Monday, October 27. Various ministries, departments, and agencies have been interrogated by PAC in recent weeks to address infractions highlighted in the 2024 Auditor-General’s Report.

On Monday, September 29, the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) Director of Administration, Dr. Emmanuel Sena Kwasi Donkor, appeared before the Public Accounts Committee following a recent claim by the Auditor-General’s (A-G) Report revealing financial irregularities at the hospital.

The report suggests that the hospital paid salaries amounting to GHS 1,449,000 to a deceased staff member for a period of 26 months. Dr. Emmanuel Sena Kwasi Donkor affirmed the report, adding that the hospital has so far recovered GHS 303,558.68 of the total amount.

He explained that the banks previously handling the transactions had, through a letter, indicated that they had ceased processing them.

“We were able to recover some amounts. Before we got here, we had received letters from some banks stating that they had stopped transferring the funds to the government chest,” Dr. Donkor told the Committee.

He further urged Parliament to intervene and help the hospital recover the remaining funds.

“Maybe at the end of this session, we will make a prayer to this House for the House to make an order directing those banks to transfer,” he said.Dr. Donkor revealed that his outfit has submitted the names of the individuals implicated in the act to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for recovery.

“EOCO has written back requesting the files of the people involved, and we have submitted them,” he added.