The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has issued a directive for the Western Regional Director of the Controller and Accountant General's Department (CAGD) to reimburse an amount of GH¢32,620 to the state, along with accrued interest, due to failure to recover overpaid pension gratuity to a retired fire officer.
In 2017, Elijah Ankrah, a former Station Officer 1 of the fire service, received GH¢66,337 instead of GH¢33,716 following his voluntary retirement.
During a sitting in Accra on Monday, January 29, PAC Chairman James Klutse Avedzi stated, “If you read the recommendation, paragraph 113 of the report, the auditors say that we recommended that the Controller and Accountant General should ensure that the regional director recovers the amount with interest at the BoG prevailing rates from Mr. Elijah Ankrah, failing which the amount should be recovered from the regional director. Now the regional director has failed to recover the money from Mr. Elijah Ankrah.”
Avedzi continued, “So this committee is upholding the recommendation of the Auditor General that the regional director for the Western Region Controller and Accountant General should refund because he failed to recover the money from Mr. Ankrah, the GH¢32,620.85 with interest at the prevailing BoG rates.”