Former Chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) James Klutse Avedzi has urged the Attorney General to see to the immediate prosecution of public officials implicated in the Auditor General’s reports for misappropriating state funds.
According to the new Director General of the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), these cases have been left hanging for too long, despite clear evidence that warrants legal action.
“The current Attorney General has a lot to do, because if we look at PAC’s recommendations in the past, the number of people he must prosecute is many,” Mr Avedzi said in an interview on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition last Thursday.
“That’s why I say he has a lot to do,” he told host George Wiafe.
He stressed that while some cases may require further investigation, those cited in the PAC reports have already gone through rigorous scrutiny.
“For the Public Accounts Committee report, the issues are clear. The Auditor General has done a lot of work and came out with those recommendations.
“The Public Accounts Committee has also invited the people. They appeared before the committee, and their explanations were not convincing. We think that the people must be prosecuted. It’s very simple.”
Mr Avedzi insisted that the Attorney General has no reason to delay the prosecutions.
“It is for him to call for those reports from Parliament. If he gets to the Clerk of the Public Accounts Committee, he can get those reports. Or the Hansard of Parliament can provide the decision of Parliament on those reports.”
To remove any further obstacles, Avedzi assured that the Auditor General’s team is fully prepared to provide evidence in court.
“The Auditor General’s staff are ready, because I’ve told them that they have the working papers for all the audits they did.
“They will be called to provide those pieces of evidence in court. And they are ready. Whatever issues go to court, they are ready to go and defend.”
With a huge backlog of cases and millions in misappropriated funds at stake, Mr Avedzi emphasized the urgency of prosecution.
“The number is huge, and he has a lot to do,” he warned, making it clear that continued inaction will only embolden more corruption in the public sector.
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