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The Centre for Freedom and Accuracy (CFA) has challenged President Dramani Mahama to introduce measures that would arrest the mismanagement of state funds, rather than introducing more taxes that would further worsen the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian. According to the institution, taxes introduced by the government to gather funds for developmental projects would only yield a short term result, adding that it was insensitive, a burden, and also inimical to the growth of the economy in the long term. At a press conference in Accra, yesterday, Mr. Andrew Awuni, Executive Director of the Institute, said the Auditor General�s reports of both 2011 and 2012 highlighted the case of billions of Ghana cedis that should go into the state treasury, but were being siphoned from the state, because state officials had decided to turn the other way, while miscreants made use of huge monies that should come to the state. �According to Minister of Finance Mr. Seth Terkper, government is seeking to raise GH�371 million with these proposed new taxes, but we can demonstrate to government, using the Auditor-General�s Report, that in only one of the several findings of the Auditor-General, the stage lost GH�75 million in bank penalties alone in 2011,� Mr. Awuni lamented. �As if that loss was not big enough for the year 2012, our investigations show that the state spent well over GH�300 million in bank penalties again, for poor Treasury management by some MDAs. This means that in two consecutive years, 2011& 2012, banks in this country profited from our government by about GH�400 million in penalties, because some people did not do their jobs well. This amount is more than what the Minister is seeking to raise with the new taxes,� he explained. Mr. Awuni said his outfit sincerely disagreed with the government, and also disappointed at the Members of Parliament (MPs), who, on Tuesday, approved the Communication Service Tax, one of the five different tax legislations sent to Parliament by the government for approval. He was of the view that even though the Finance Minister had appeared before Parliament to explain that the government was seeking to raise GH371 million with the new taxes, the Centre for Freedom and Accuracy was expecting the lawmakers to bring to the President�s attention the mis-management of state funds, as reported by the 2011 Auditor�s General Report, which was before Parliament. The AG�s 2011 Report had disclosed huge mismanagement of funds, which, according to Mr. Awuni, was running into billions of Ghana cedis, an amount �far, far, in excess of what our Finance Minister said we need, hence more taxes on the ordinary Ghanaian.� He said the AG�s Report, which was yet to be discussed by Parliament, had shown that spending above the approved budget, especially by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), coupled with a total of GH�75 million bank charged as penalty for treasury mismanagement, would have solved the problem. The Executive Director said the centre was conducting a study into government�s revenue and expenditure for 2012, and even though the exercise was not complete, the findings, so far, were the same. �Things have gone from bad to worse. For instance, we know, as a fact, that in the year 2012, actual expenditure for some MDAs is in excess of the 2012 budget by over GH�1 billion. You would not believe this, but GH�8.3 billion realised from the sale of some state assets as far back as 2010, has still not been paid intro the Consolidated Fund. Many government loans are still outstanding, projects have been under-stated, multiple payments of salaries and pensions were recorded, etc., etc.� In the opinion of the Executive Director; �There is enough money in the system. Go for the AG�s report, because government can get more money from outstanding recoverable debts that government has given as loans or holds equity with. We disagree with government on the matter of new taxes to raise funds. We must account for state funds.� Still on the AG�s 2011 Report, he said the uncertainty in the recovery of Government of Ghana (GOG) loans total GH�96 million, failure to transfer in full non-tax revenue collected into the Consolidated Fund, GH5.8 million, a total of GH112 million from the GETFund transferred into social intervention programmes. He regretted that receivables from nine foreign missions had not been accounted for, value book debtors of GH5.1 million, poor record-keeping on GoG equity investments, absence of adequate system for reporting Japanese on-lent loan, nonpayment of divestiture proceeds into the Consolidated Fund amounting to GH8.3 million, and multiple payment of salaries and pension, have contributed to lack of funds in the state treasury. �All this was contained in the AG�s 2011 Report, and we need GH371 million to commence developmental projects. These monies are even without the famous judgment debt of GH218 million,� he lamented. Mr. Andrew A. Awuni said he was amazed by the position of the lawmakers of the country, who also seem to have taken the same position as the President � that more taxes on the ordinary Ghanaians was the only way government could realise funds.