The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has been warned against the continuous transportation of revenue by road to its headquarters in Accra as this could lead to loss of public funds through robbery, theft and diversion.
The Takoradi Command of the GIS in the Western Region, for instance, between September 2017 and May 2018 last year, transported a total revenue of US$19,600 by road to the Service’s Headquarters.
In its 2018 annual report, the Auditor-General, Mr Daniel Yaw Domelevo, noted that revenue totalling GH¢1,280.00 and US$4,850 collected by the Elubo Command was also transported by road to the Takoradi Regional office.
“Our review showed control weaknesses in the custody and transfers of revenue collected from the outstations to the Service’s headquarters, Accra”, the report stated.
To this end, Mr Domelevo has directed the GIS Regional Commanders to seek approval from the Controller and Accountant-General through their headquarters to enable the Commands to open bank accounts to facilitate the transfer of money through the banking system.
Similarly, the Auditor-General discovered that payments by the Bole Immigration Office in the Savannah region amounting to GH¢11,950 were not backed by supporting documents.
“In the absence of these documents we were unable to authenticate the payments. We therefore requested that the Accountant and the Sector Commander should refund the amount of GH¢11,950, failure of which they would be surcharged.”
Regulation 39 of Financial Administration Regulations, 2004 requires that the head of accounts section of a department shall control the disbursements of funds and ensure that transactions are properly authenticated to show that amounts are due and payable and reject any disbursements that do not meet the requirement.
BY TIMES REPORTER