The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has threatened to escalate the repeated absence of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) Administrator, Michael Harry Yamson, to the Chief of Staff after his failure to attend a scheduled hearing forced the committee to discharge representatives of 30 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
The committee, chaired by Abena Osei Asare, brought proceedings to an abrupt end after insisting that the absence of the DACF Administrator prevented it from adequately examining the Auditor-General’s report on projects implemented under the District Assemblies Common Fund–Responsiveness Factor Grant (RFG).
The decision meant the committee could not proceed with its planned scrutiny of the projects involving the 30 assemblies, whose chief executives and departmental heads had appeared before it.
The chair expressed frustration over Mr Yamson’s absence, pointing out that the committee had already postponed an earlier sitting to give him, or an appropriate director of the fund, an opportunity to attend and respond to questions beyond the mandate of the RFG coordinator.
“Mr. Administrator, wherever you are, we told you the last time to come and you have refused to attend,” she said.
She added that the committee would formally write to the Chief of Staff to report the matter, stressing that the PAC had the authority to summon individuals whose presence was necessary for its work.
Deputy Minister’s appeal rejected
Deputy Minister of Local Government Rita Odoley Sowah appealed to the committee to continue with the hearing, arguing that the assembly representatives had honoured the invitation and were ready to answer questions.
However, the appeal failed to persuade the chair, who maintained that the presence of the MMDAs’ officials could not substitute for the DACF Administrator or an appropriate representative of the fund.
She explained that the questions the committee needed to address concerned the administration of the Common Fund and therefore required responses from officials with the relevant authority and knowledge.
The committee consequently declined to proceed with the examination of the RFG projects.
DACF Administrator faces cost concerns
The chair also indicated that the financial implications of the aborted sitting should not be ignored.
She said any expenses incurred by the assemblies in travelling to attend the hearing would have to be borne by the DACF Administrator.
The 30 MMDAs were subsequently discharged without being examined on the planned projects.
The incident has raised concerns about the impact of officials’ absence on parliamentary oversight and the use of public resources, particularly when representatives of local authorities have already incurred expenses to attend hearings.
The PAC is expected to formally communicate its concerns to the Chief of Staff as it seeks to address the DACF Administrator’s repeated absence and facilitate the resumption of the stalled scrutiny.
