C'tee to probe NHIC (Jan 10, 2008)

Page 13, Jan 10, 2008
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
A SPECIAL sub-committee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has been set up to investigate the numerous instances of financial malfeasance that were raised in the 2005 Auditor-General’s Report against the National Health Insurance Council (NHIC).
In all, the report raised 21 financial cases of malfeasance against the council, but during the recent public sittings of the PAC, it could not deal extensively with the allegations as a result of time constraints.
The allegations included excessive printing of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) brochures costing GH¢108,000, duplication of media agency services, inappropriate award of contracts costing GH¢211,000, false certification of delivery of contract orders at the cost of GH¢230,000 and failure to account for the utilisation of set-up fund amounting to GH¢167,000.
Other financial improprieties raised by the report included over-payment of honorarium of $13,000, misapplication of a GH¢64,500 grant from the British Department for International Development (DFID), unapproved excess expenditure amounting to GH¢690,000, among others.
The Chairman of the PAC, Mr Samuel Sallas-Mensah, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, said the special sub-committee, chaired by the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, would begin sitting on Tuesday, January 15.
Other members of the committee are Mr J.B. Danquah Adu, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa North; Mr Robert Sarfo-Mensah, MP for Asunafo North; Mr Dominic Azumah, MP for Garu-Tempane; Mr Camelo Pwamang, the Clerk of the PAC, and an ex-officio member from the Auditor-General’s Department.
According to Mr Sallas-Mensah, the sub-committee had up to the end of February to submit its report.
It also has the option of sitting either in public or in camera.