Revenue from marriage registrations: Fidelity Bank transferred GH¢509,440.00 out of GH¢595,550.00

Article 187 of the Constitution of Ghana mandates the Auditor-General or any person authorized or appointed for the purpose by the Auditor-General to audit all public accounts of Ghana and of all public offices.

Is allowance instantly strangers applauded

The Auditor General has revealed that the Registrar General’s Department collected revenue totaling GH¢595,550.00 from the issuance of Marriage Certificates but Fidelity Bank transferred GH¢509,440.00 into the Consolidated Fund, leaving a difference of GH¢86,110.00. 

Further to the above, it indicates that the outfit noted per its review that the Department realized revenue totaling GH¢945,334.00 as administration fees from Official Liquidations undertaken. However, the Registrar General failed to provide the underlining documents for their review. 

Details are provided below: 

Transaction Date Description  Amount (GH¢)  Remarks 
21/01/2020 Liquidation fees (BOG chq no. 000139) 405,000.00  

IGF     in     respect      of 

Granites & Marbles Ltd. 

28/01/2020 Liquidation fees (BOG chq no. 000058) 65,334.00  IGF in respect of Masai computer services Ltd 
30/03/2020 Liquidation fees in respect of 39 micro credit companies 475,000.00   
 Total  945.334.00  

Article 187 of the Constitution of Ghana mandates the Auditor-General or any person authorized or appointed for the purpose by the Auditor-General to audit all public accounts of Ghana and of all public offices. Also, the Auditor-General or any person authorized or appointed for the purpose by the AuditorGeneral shall have access to all books, records, returns, and other documents relevant to those accounts.

The Auditor General has therefore recommended that the Chief Director of the Ministry of Justice ensures that the Registrar General provides the underlining documentation for audit review. 

Also, it wants the Registrar General to ensure that Fidelity Bank immediately transfers the outstanding amount of GH¢86,110.00 into the designated Consolidated Fund account, failing which the amount should be recovered from the Head of Accounts. 

Further to the above, the Auditor General recovered Internally Generated Fund(IGF) totaling GH¢297,751.83 as of December 2021 but the amount was not lodged into the designated Consolidated Fund Transit accounts but rather lodged into the Department’s retention account.

The Auditor General has therefore recommended that the Chief Director ensures that the total amount is transferred into the Holding account without further delay.