The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has issued a directive to the District Chief Executive of Wa East District Assembly, Mr. S.K Mahama, to process payments for pending educational support and development projects requests from the Member of Parliament for Wa East Constituency, Dr. Godfred Seidu Jasaw.
This directive was given during the ongoing 2022 Public Account Committee hearing in Sunyani, where the DCE and other officials appeared before the Committee.
Dr. Jasaw had requested payments for fees of needy but brilliant students in the Wa East District, as well as for various development projects such as clinics, schools rehabilitation, and boreholes drilling in different communities. Despite several attempts by the MP and local chiefs to get the DCE to approve these payments, they were declined, leaving the students and communities without the necessary support.
The DCE attempted to justify his actions by claiming that he had not received such requests and could not verify the authenticity of the letters. However, the Coordinating Director confirmed that the Assembly had received the requests and forwarded them to the DCE’s office for authorization.
As a result of the non-compliance, many students have been unable to continue their education since 2022, forcing some to defer their studies. Additionally, numerous development projects in various communities have been stalled due to the lack of funds.
The Chairman of the Committee emphasized that the MP has the sole authority to determine the usage of the MPs share of the District Assembly Common Fund and directed the DCE to comply with the requests. He also mandated the Assembly to provide quarterly reports on the expenditure from the fund to the MP, as required by regulations.
The Committee commended Dr. Godfred Seidu Jasaw for his efforts in using his share of the Common Fund to support education and development projects in his constituency. The lack of compliance by the DCE in Wa East has been seen as a deliberate refusal, possibly driven by partisanship at the expense of much-needed development in the district.
