It was a tense morning in Parliament on Tuesday, May 19, as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) turned its attention to the troubling financial records of the Peki College of Education.
The air in the chamber was thick with concern as members pored over the audit findings, trying to make sense of the institution’s deteriorating financial health.
The numbers told a worrying story. Losses at the college had ballooned from GH¢916,000 in 2023 to more than GH¢1 million in 2024, a rise that set off alarm bells among committee members. The PAC wanted answers. How could the gap have grown so much in just a year? Was it the fault of Ghana’s high inflation rate, as the college’s Director of Finance, Hornesmus Quarshie, insisted? Or was there more to the story?
Chairperson of the PAC, Abena Osei-Asare, wasn’t convinced by the inflation argument. Leaning forward, she challenged Quarshie directly. “Your loss of GH¢1 million from GH¢916,000 is purely due to inflation? You spent over GH¢800,000 on transportation costs alone. Looking at the strength of your income, you could have postponed some of these items to avoid incurring the losses.”
Her words hung in the air, underscoring the committee’s frustration. “You make a loss of GH¢916,000, and you come here and you think you can come and sit here and explain it away? You are not doing your school any good thing,” she added sternly.
As the session wore on, it was clear that the PAC expected better financial stewardship from the management of the Peki College of Education. The story unfolding in Parliament was not just about numbers, but about accountability, and the hope that lessons would be learned for the future.
Source: Apexnewsgh.com