The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Upper Manya Krobo in the Eastern Region, Hon. Emmanuel Kwasi Lawer, has recovered GHS 119,900 in misappropriated Internally Generated Funds (IGF).
This followed wide-ranging internal audits and disciplinary measures targeting revenue staff involved in financial infractions.
The recovery has led to the dismissal of four revenue collectors and the official request for the transfer of the District Finance Officer, Ransford Manu, after he was implicated in enabling or covering up the diversion of public funds into private hands.
“We realised we have gotten some GCRs missing. Although they were issued from the procurement officer to the finance officer, and he also issued them to the revenue collectors, it got into the markets, but the money was not coming out”
Hon. Emmanuel Kwasi Lawer, DCE for Upper Manya Krobo
The actions follow a March 2025 audit commissioned by the DCE, who said suspicions were raised based on earlier observations of revenue shortfalls from late 2024 into early 2025.
The audit, conducted with support from the regional internal audit unit, uncovered missing General Counterfoil Receipt (GCR) booklets, unexplained delays in bank deposits, and diversions of public funds.
The audit confirmed that five GCR booklets had been used in revenue collection but did not reflect in the Assembly’s bank accounts.
Hon. Kwasi Lawer, who took office recently, stated that he confronted the involved staff directly and, in certain cases, involved the police. He recounted that some revenue collectors initially denied any wrongdoing but later returned the funds when confronted with evidence and law enforcement.
“Shortly, we started retrieving. Within the week, they brought 27,000 Ghana Cedis and 25,000 Ghana Cedis. So, that was 52,000. At the Police station, an amount of Ghs 67,000 was also recovered”
Hon. Emmanuel Kwasi Lawer, DCE for Upper Manya Krobo
He explained that the GHS 67,900 retrieved in cash and documented with GCRs, and the GHS 52,000 voluntarily returned and paid into the Assembly’s account, culminated in a total recovery of GHS 119,900.
Staff Dismissals and Administrative Reforms
The four dismissed revenue collectors were found to have paid collected funds directly to the District Finance Officer, instead of depositing them into the Assembly’s designated bank accounts, violating standard financial regulations.
“I dismissed them and replaced them with new, law-abiding officers who can help reset the Assembly in line with President Mahama’s RESET Agenda”
Hon. Emmanuel Kwasi Lawer, DCE for Upper Manya Krobo
A meeting held on July 15, 2025, and chaired by the DCE, detailed the findings, listing seven revenue officers who held unaccounted revenue totaling GH¢19,675.
Among the revenue collectors implicated, Ebenezer Osei admitted to holding onto collected funds, claiming the Assembly owed him unpaid commission of GHS 800.00. Another, Abubakar Sadique, admitted he used GHS 5,432 for his wife’s medical bills.
Both were dismissed and handed over to the police for recovery of the funds. However, two others – Stephen Adomako and Michael Asante – were exonerated after it was confirmed that their collected funds were already handed over to the District Finance Officer.
Central to the scandal is Ransford Manu, the District Finance Officer, who is alleged to have received GHS 8,357 into his private account from the revenue collectors and was in possession of two GCR booklets, one of which had a serial-numbered page removed.
“If I have to always call the police before the Finance Officer acts, then I can’t work with him. I want someone who will listen and help fix things internally,” said Hon. Lawer, justifying his request to the Regional Finance Directorate for Manu’s immediate transfer.
The DFO has since refunded the embezzled funds and is facing further investigation.
The DCE’s swift and direct actions have been widely regarded as part of a broader push to sanitize the IGF system and strengthen financial transparency at the local government level.
It marks one of the most assertive local-level recoveries in recent memory, reflecting the renewed emphasis on accountability under President Mahama’s administration.
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