Gaming Commission ex-boss to be held accountable for over GH¢414,000 financial loss

Interior Minister Alhaji Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak has served notice to hold former Gaming Commission boss, Mr Peter Mireku personally accountable for an alleged GH¢414,590.53 financial loss.

This was caused by an alleged bond breach involving a former staff member named Mr Moses Teye Mensah.

According to the Minister, Mr Mireku allegedly failed to follow due process in approving Mr Mensah’s study leave with pay, leading to the significant financial loss.

“The commissioner was Peter Mireku, and on this particular instance, he did not follow the laid-down procedure for granting someone study leave with pay,” the Minister stated on Tuesday.

Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, in Accra, the Interior Minister said: “Honourable Chair, because of this, I’m going to insist that he is invited to pay the money.”

The Minister outlined three key actions to address the situation: Peter Mireku would be made to pay the money and would be held personally accountable for the financial loss.

“The bond guarantor will pay part. The person who guaranteed the bond, still working at the Gaming Commission, will also be required to pay part of the amount.

“And Moses Teye Mensah will be placed on a stop list. He will be arrested at the airport and made to pay the money if he returns to Ghana,” he said.

Acting Gaming Commissioner, Mr Emmanuel Siisi Quainoo, revealed that the Commission had made multiple efforts to recover the money from Mr Mensah, but to no avail.

“Honourable Chair, I have written several times to Moses Teye Mensah. He responds, claiming he is pursuing another master’s degree but has not provided any school details or transcripts. He keeps tossing the Gaming Commission,” he told the Committee.

According to Mr Quainoo, the amount in question, GH¢414,590.53, is significant, equivalent to nearly half the Commission’s monthly salary bill.

He noted that he had written to the Attorney-General and the Inspector General of Police, escalating the issue directly to the Interior Minister for further intervention.

PAC on Monday, September 29, reconvened to continue its public hearings to review the Auditor-General’s report for the year ending December 31, 2024.

The Committee will, from Monday to Wednesday, October 1, scrutinize various government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) for alleged financial irregularities.

Among the agencies and ministries appearing before the Committee are the Ghana Statistical Service, the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service, the Ministry for the Interior, the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General’s Department, and the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs.

The others are the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Creative Art, the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry, the Ministry of Environment, Science, and Technology, and the Ministry of Transport.

The PAC’s scrutiny of the Auditor-General’s report highlights the Committee’s commitment to ensuring accountability and transparency in government financial dealings.

Source: GNA

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