According to the 2021 Auditor-General’s report between January 2018 and April 2020, a former accountant, Osman Jamal-Deen, forged the signature of the Medical Superintendent at the Buipe Polyclinic and withdrew GH430,009.54 from the hospital’s account.
Per its recommendation, the Medical Superintendent should use legal means to recover from Mr. Osman Jamal-Deen the amount of GH¢430,009.54.
The A-G also revealed in the same report that the Ministry of Finance (MoF) paid three people a total of GH1,112,895.96 in salaries from January 2020 to December 2021, despite the fact that they were not Ministry employees.
According to Regulation 86 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378), a Principal Spending Officer of a covered entity must ensure that only the names of personnel who are eligible to receive payment for work done are kept on the payment voucher and keep records of the covered entity’s nominal roll in a manner that ensures the correct amount of emolument is paid.
The A-G has recommended that the amount of GH1,112,895.96 be recovered from the Ministry’s Chief Director and payroll validators.
Osman Jamal Deen, 41, has been remanded in prison custody for allegedly stealing from the polyclinic’s accounts.
The accountant was remanded in Tamale High Court after pleading not guilty to all three counts of stealing and forgery.
Osman Jamal will return to court on June 8, 2021, for the start of his trial.
The suspect was arrested in April of last year and has since been released on police investigation bail.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
