Students and teachers at Sefwi Wiawso Secondary Technical School directed to return mattresses

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has instructed students and teachers at Sefwi Wiawso Secondary Technical School to return school mattresses that were improperly taken.

This directive was issued during PAC’s review of the Auditor-General’s report on the Public Accounts of Ghana’s Pre-University Educational Institutions for the financial year ending December 31, 2023.

The meeting was held in Sunyani, the capital of the Bono Region.

The report specifically mentioned Sefwi Wiawso Secondary Technical School, where 25 individuals, including both students and teachers, were found to have taken school mattresses.

PAC recommended that the school’s management be held accountable for this misconduct.

The school’s headmaster, Mr. Patrick Kwan, assured the committee that steps were being taken to recover the mattresses.

In addition, two chief cooks at Sefwi Wiawso SHS were found to have inconsistencies in their birth records.

While their Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) documents indicate they were born in 1962, their Ghana Education Service (GES) records list their birth years as 1974 and 1977.

The headmaster, Mr. Obeng Nyamekye, revealed that both cooks had requested early retirement due to health reasons.

PAC also instructed the Aowin District Assembly to repair nine abandoned vehicles and directed that those beyond repair be auctioned off.

Further irregularities were found at Sefwi Wiawso College of Education, where store officer Mr. James Aggrey was discovered to have taken school food items and essentials worth GH¢104,865.22.

PAC advised the school management to retrieve the funds from Mr. Aggrey and refund the amount to the Internally Generated Funds (IGF).

Additionally, the Asunafo South District Assembly in the Ahafo Region was found to have employed casual workers without pay for ten months.

It was also revealed that these workers were paid below the national minimum wage of GH¢18.15.

Human Resource Manager Mr. Yaw Kissi Adusei, former District Coordinating Director Mr. Oliver Opoku Yeboah, and Assistant Human Resource Manager Mr. Ernest Owusu Achiaw were identified as having validated payments exceeding GH¢167,000.

Earlier in the day, the Chairman of the Committee, James Klutse Avedzi, led the team to pay a courtesy call on the Bono Regional Minister, Justina Owusu Banahene, to inform her of their presence in the region. She expressed her gratitude and stated that it is her responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone in the region, regardless of their background or origin.