These kinds of excesses are what leads to the untold suffering and hardship being inflicted on Ghanaians- because all the money is spent in the wrong way.

The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament presented a report to the house, based on the report of the Auditor General for 2010/11. The report showed that Ghc 2.1bn has been used by several public institutions in the wrong way, leading to the nation incurring huge losses.

The report was focused on public boards, corporations, and other statutory institutions, and found the main offenders to be the the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Ghana Trade Fair Company (GTFC).

The report showed COCOBOD had not paid dividends since 2003/2004, despite making huge profits each year. They claimed the money was being used to construct ‘cocoa roads’ in the country.

SSNIT was indicted for making bad investments, whilst the Ghana Trade Fair Company was ballooning the costs of repairs and maintenance to line their pockets. In all, the cost of malfeasance to the taxpayer is Gh2.1bn.

Parliament has in response summoned the institutions, ordering them to submit a report on their implementations of the recommendations made in the Auditor General’s report. As to what would come out of that, nobody has the faintest idea.