The opposition NDC National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, has nailed the beleaguered health minister on his “clearly indefensible matter.”
Quoting Section 96 (1a) of the Public Financial Management Act (2016) under Offences and penalties on NewsFile Saturday, which says;
(1) A person, acting in an office or employment connected with the procurement or control of Government stores, or the collection, management or disbursement of amounts in respect of a public fund or a public trust who
(a) makes an unauthorised commitment resulting in a financial obligation for the Government,
(c) is responsible for any improper payment of public funds or payment of money that is not duly verified in line with existing procedures,
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a term of imprisonment of not less than six months and not more than five years or a fine of not less than one hundred penalty units and not more than two thousand, five hundred penalty units or to both.
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Sammy Gyamfi argued that in this Sputnik vaccine, the two ministers breached (a) when they committed the country to an “unlawful” agreement that did not have the approval of parliament or the Public Procurement Authority.
He added that the Finance Minister, in particular, violated (c) when his ministry made an “improper) payment to Sheik Al Maktoum.
Sammy Gyamfi concluded that these two ministers could face up to five years in jail for breaching the PFMA.
Source: Myjoyonline