The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Member of Parliament for Ketu North, Hon. James Klutse Avedzi, has raised concerns over the increasing trend of scholarship recipients, particularly from traditional and technical universities, refusing to return to Ghana after completing their studies abroad.
His remarks were made during a press briefing in Ho, the Volta Regional Capital, where the PAC held its Zonal Public Hearing to consider the Financial Report of the Auditor-General for the year ending 2023.
“The challenge that we have seen over the years, which still remains, is the sponsorship given to lecturers who go outside to do their PhDs, who are being sponsored by the government, trained, and even paid.
“We expect them to come back to serve, but they rather remain in their various countries of study without returning.”
Hon. James Klutse Avedzi, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)
The PAC Chairman stressed the need for stronger accountability mechanisms to address this issue. He proposed the implementation of a more effective guarantor system to ensure that if scholarship beneficiaries fail to return, their guarantors could be held responsible for refunding the funds invested in their education.
This suggestion, he explained, would provide a safeguard for government funds and ensure that the country does not continue to lose skilled human resources that are critical for national development.
According to Hon. Avedzi, the problem is not new, and previous Auditor-General’s reports have highlighted the issue. Many lecturers from technical universities, who have been beneficiaries of these scholarships, do not return to serve their bond, a requirement for all individuals benefiting from government sponsorship.
The Chairman emphasized that this ongoing phenomenon has hindered the capacity-building efforts of the country, as skilled professionals meant to drive key sectors remain abroad after completing their studies.
The purpose of the PAC hearings is to scrutinize the Auditor-General’s reports, which highlight financial mismanagement, inefficiencies, and irregularities in public institutions. Through these hearings, the committee seeks to hold public institutions accountable, improve financial transparency, and ensure the efficient use of state resources.
Unearned Salaries and Payroll Irregularities
In addition to the concerns surrounding scholarship beneficiaries, Hon. Avedzi expressed worries about the persistent issue of unearned salaries being paid to individuals who have either vacated their posts or passed away.
The Auditor-General’s report detected instances where these salaries were not promptly removed from the payroll, resulting in unjustified payments.
One particularly egregious case involved a lecturer at Accra Technical University, who, according to the report, received a double salary from both Accra Technical University and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) for a period of thirteen months.
Hon. Avedzi described the situation as a criminal offense and warned that those responsible would be held accountable. “This constitutes a crime, and we are going to deal with it,” he asserted, emphasizing the need for stronger payroll management and oversight to prevent such occurrences in the future.
The Public Accounts Committee’s hearing in Ho focused on probing the financial reports of various public institutions, including district assemblies, technical universities, colleges of education, and senior high schools from four regions: Volta, Oti, Greater Accra, and Eastern.
The entities that appeared before the PAC on the day of the briefing included Koforidua Technical University, Accra Technical University, and a number of colleges of education and senior high schools from the Oti Region.
During the session, various institutions were questioned about discrepancies in their financial records, with particular attention given to areas such as unearned salaries, double payments, and the misuse of scholarship funds.
Hon. Avedzi and other PAC members urged the institutions to take immediate corrective actions and implement stronger internal controls to prevent future occurrences of financial mismanagement.
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