Auditing the Auditor-General: Domelevo calls for answers over GH¢684m gap in COVID-19 audit investigation

Former Auditor-General Daniel Yaw Domelevo has called on the immediate past Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, to explain the wide gap in COVID-19 fumigation figures uncovered in an investigation by journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni.

Speaking on JoyNews, Mr Domelevo said the discrepancy was concerning, particularly if the audit team had access to the relevant expenditure records but failed to capture the full amount in its report.

Mr Awuni’s investigation found that at least GH¢780 million was spent on COVID-19 fumigation, while the special audit recorded GH¢96.3 million as the cost of fumigation. The investigation examined expenditure by the Ministries of Education, Local Government and Transport and found significant amounts that were not reflected in the audit.

The Ministry of Education spent about GH¢316.1 million across three phases of fumigation, but only GH¢96.3 million was captured in the audit. The Ministry of Local Government spent GH¢299 million on three Zoomlion contracts, none of which was reflected in the audit’s fumigation figure.

The Ministry of Transport also paid GH¢159.9 million to Zoomlion for fumigation between 2020 and 2022. The figures identified by the investigation therefore left a gap of about GH¢684 million between the total expenditure it found and the amount recorded in the special audit as the cost of fumigation.

Mr Domelevo pointed to the responsibility of the institutions that were audited, noting that “the auditees, that is, the public service institutions that were being audited, are obliged under Article 118 to make the information available to the Auditor-General.”

He said either explanation would raise serious concerns. If the information was withheld, “that is an offence,” but if the auditors had the information and failed to properly report it, “that is equally serious professional misconduct.”

He therefore noted that, “it is good to make a call to the Auditor-General who led that audit for him to explain to all of us what might have happened for him to report a lower figure, far lower than the actual figure involved.”

One possibility, Mr Domelevo noted, was that the auditors were denied access to some of the relevant information. But even then, the limitation should have been disclosed because an auditor denied information “must have reported that in his report” so that the public would know “there is a limited scope of the audit that he did.”

The former Auditor General said the failure to account for such a limitation would make it difficult to understand why the audit arrived at a figure far below the expenditure identified by Mr Awuni’s investigation.

“Those who hold people accountable must themselves be ready to also account for their stewardship,” he said. “They need to be accountable. They are in office. They use public funds,” he added.

He described Mr Awuni’s work as important, saying investigations that scrutinise the use of public resources are necessary to strengthen accountability in public service. Read the full story here: https://www.pacgh.org/post/auditing-the-auditor-general-how-special-audit-understated-covid-19-expenditure