The Ghana Education Service (GES) is investigating allegations by Alhaji T.A. Mohammed, former accountant of the Tamale Municipal Directorate of Education, that he paid out ?36.6 million as bribes to staff of the head office of GES in Accra.

The ?bribe money? he said, was out of the ?81.3 million he was alleged to have embezzled from ?100.4 million given him in December 2001 for the payment of teachers? T and T allowances. Speaking to the Ghanaian Times in an interview on Tuesday, Mr John Budu-Smith, acting Director-General of the GES said all what Alhaji Mohammed was alleged to have said were ?mere allegations whose veracity would be proved by the investigators. ?Those are only his words which need to be investigated,? he said.

Alhaji Mohammed who had been for 14 years, the accountant at the Directorate until his transfer to Tamale Teacher-Training College last April, was alleged to have disbursed only ?19.7 million and could not account for the rest. Teachers in the municipality had threatened to go on strike if he was not prosecuted for the alleged crime.

Responding to the allegations, the accountant, who was suspended last week, said the money was diverted to meet other expenses like the purchase of a cellular phone for the Municipal Director of Education, stationery, payment of telephone bills and the repair of official vehicles.