The Auditor General has called for the arrest and prosecution of some accountants at some government senior high schools in the country following revelations of embezzlement.
The accountants are accused of falsifying documents which made it possible for them to steal over GH¢80,000.
The Auditor General captured the revelations in the 2014 audited report of pre-university educational institutions.
According to the report, the accountant of Obrachire Senior High Technical School in the Central Region falsified payment records and succeeded in illegally withdrawing GH¢17,000 from the school accounts.
In the same region, payment orders totaling over GH¢18,000 lodged by the accountant with the Twifo Praso Senior High School at the Ghana commercial bank had not been credited to the schools accounts.
The situation is even worse in the Eastern Region where a former national service person of the Presby senior high school at Kraboa Coaltar, one Andrew Larbi Amoah is said to have stolen GH¢56,000 of WASSCE exam fees collected through concealment of official receipts books. The report indicates that the culprit has absconded.
Similar acts of embezzlement are reported in other regions. Also cases of salaries and other payments not supported by relevant documentation received mention in the report.
In the opinion of the Auditor General, the frauds occurred because the heads and accountants did not exercise effective supervision over cash receipts and banking duties.
The Auditor General recommends the sanctioning of officials who have misappropriated or stolen money, stating in the executive summary that 103 institutions failed to submit their annual financial statement for auditing.
The report concludes that financial indiscipline on the part of heads of the institutions audited stands GH¢13.1 million.
