PAC orders NIA Executive Secretary to refund GH¢98,000

The Public Account Committee (PAC) of Parliament has given Professor Kenneth Attafuah, the Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA) one month to refund over GH¢98,000 alleged to have been deducted from the Authority’s Account.

According to PAC, the alleged amount served as a penalty for the delayed transfer of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contributions.

The directive came at the public hearing of the Committee, at Parliament House in Accra, when Prof Attafuah made an appearance in Parliament House.

The PAC, per the Auditor General’s recommendation, substantiated that Prof Ken Attafuah and the financial controller should be surcharged with the penalty’s cost.

“The recommendation is that you should refund the money, and the money should be refunded from the Chief Executive and Financial Controller. You have come to explain why you did not pay the money you withheld to SSNIT, but the committee will not accept your explanation.

“So, the recommendation of the Auditor General still holds, the Chief Executive and the Financial Controller should go and refund the money to the recovery account of the Auditor General, and this should be done in one month,” Mr James Klutse Avedzi, the Chairman of PAC said.

Source: GNA