Tamale Technical University To Face Attorney General Over Procurement Breaches

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has recommended to the Attorney-General that the Tamale Technical University (TaTU) should face prosecution over the uncompetitive purchase of furniture, which was a breach of the procurement law.

This followed the inability of TaTU's Management to monitor and supervise procurement activities to ensure transparency and fair competition in procurement processes to guarantee value for money.

The 2019 Auditor General’s report indicated that TaTU Management obtained three invoices from different suppliers to support the procurement of furniture worth GHc17,300 with two of the invoices having the same telephone numbers, which was against section 20 of the Public Procurement (Amendment) Act, 2016.

The sanction was recommended during PAC's sitting in Tamale to scrutinize the 2019 report of the Auditor General in the five regions of the north.

The reports to be probed within the sitting period included public accounts of technical universities and polytechnics, colleges of education, Senior High Schools, and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.

The six-day sitting was opened with the Dr Hilla Limann Technical University, Bolgatanga Technical University and Tamale Technical University appearing to respond to infractions identified by the Auditor General.

Management of these institutions was queried on money, contracts, projects, taxes and other procurement-related issues.

Dr James Klutse Avedzi, Chairman of PAC, while addressing the media, said PAC would recommend in its report that procurement breaches and infractions be prosecuted in accordance with provisions of the law when found guilty.

He said sanctioning infractions was a way to instill accountability, ensure systemic improvements and deter other institutions from falling victims of procurement infractions.

Dr Avedzi said PAC would go beyond the warning to prosecute officers, who fell victims to procurement infractions, saying “because Parliament did not ensure that procurement issues are dealt with in the past, they think that it is just a normal thing to appear before the PAC to be warned and that’s all."