General News of Monday, 11 September 2017

Source: kasapafmonline.com

Parliament to subpoena Frances Essiam if she fails to appear before PAC

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company Limited, Frances Essiam Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company Limited, Frances Essiam

The coming days will not be rosy for the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company Limited if she fails to appear before the Public Accounts Committee to answer to some questions raised by the Auditor-General in 2015 audited report regarding her outfit.

The vociferous CEO was scheduled to appear before the Hon. James Klutse Avedzi-chaired PAC on Monday, September 11, 2017, but did not turn up.

No reason was officially assigned to her absence.

A deputy Minister for Energy, William Owuraku Aidoo, who represented the Ministry under which the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company Limited is an agency, could also not assign any reason to Essiam’s absence.

Initial reports suggest that Essiam has been playing hide and seek with the PAC by refusing to appear before the Committee anytime an invitation is extended to her.

Chairman of the PAC, James Klutse Avedzi who could not condone to her behavior anymore cautioned that it will be in the interest of Frances Essiam to appear before PAC or Parliament would be compelled to use its powers to drag her before the Committee.

“We are giving you the opportunity as the Minister to produce her with her team to appear before this committee. We will give you a date and if that is not done, we will use the powers we have as a committee to subpoena her and if she also refuses to appear, we will leave everything to the House to decide on what to do to her. We think that so far how she has treated the committee is not the best and I don’t want to open the floor to members who have witnessed what kind of conversation between her and the Clerk, I wouldn’t want that. So, we want you to produce her before the committee,” he told Hon. Aidoo at sitting in Accra on Monday.

The deputy Energy Minister in response promised to produce her before the Committee.

However, it is not clear when she will appear before the PAC as the Chairman failed to disclose the exact date she is expected to appear in public.