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Audit bodies chase Mental Health Authority

Corruption Watch has discovered that the Mental Health Authority (MHA) is becoming a serial offender in effectively accounting for public funds allocated to it. 

The Auditor-General, for instance, questions the whereabouts of almost 200 thousand Ghana cedis of funds disbursed to the MHA in recent years.

In addition, the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) has shamed the MHA for failing to submit three consecutive quarterly internal audit reports and one annual internal audit work plan. 

The IAA insists that the submission of various reports and plans to the Agency provides “an assurance that existing control systems are working in the form and manner required.”

Reacting, Professor Akwasi Osei, the Chief Executive of the MHA, said he was not aware that the IAA had shamed the MHA for audit infractions. Besides, doubted the IAA’s claim that the MHA had not submitted internal audit work plan and reports, saying he needed to confirm from his team whether they did not submit the reports. 

In a telephone interview with Corruption Watch on Tuesday, Professor Osei disagreed with the recommendations of the Auditor-General that he should refund unaccounted funds that had been disbursed to the MHA’s partners. 

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Auditor General indicts Ghana’s Washington Mission officer over “missing” visa fees

…Ex-Tourism Minister, MP Queenstar Pokuah Sawyerr, Free SHS Secretariat also accused 

A new report of the Auditor-General shows that grand corruption and waste of public funds is not going away.  

Among a raft of findings is the indictment of the Honorary Consul General at Ghana’s Washington Mission and Houston Consulate for not being able to account for visa fees totalling US$354,760.00 (or two million cedis at prevailing exchange rates).

The Free SHS Secretariat is also accused of misapplying more than nineteen (19) million cedis of its allocations.

In addition, the Auditor-General says Ex-Tourism Minister Catherine Afeku is keeping three official vehicles despite leaving office.

MP Queenstar Pokuah Sawyerr is accused of spending GH¢39,000.00 of her MP allocation on non-existent works.

These are contained in the “Report of the Auditor-General on the Public Accounts of Ghana: Ministries, Departments and other Agencies for the year ended 31 December, 2020.”

The Office of the Auditor-General, under the hand of Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, Acting Auditor-General transmitted this report to the Speaker of Parliament on 11 June, 2021. 

The big picture

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Corruption Watch Breakdown of ‘Auditor General’s Report on Public Accounts’

Introduction 

The document we focusing on is the “Report of the Auditor-General on the Public  Accounts of Ghana: Ministries, Departments and other Agencies for the year  ended 31 December, 2020.” 

The Office of the Auditor-General, under the hand of Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, Acting Auditor-General transmitted this report to the Speaker of Parliament on 11  June, 2021.  

The report states that when the Auditor-General and his team set out to Audit  accounts of MDAs to ascertain the state of their accounts at the close of the year  2020, they were guided by certain objectives.  

They set out to determine whether: 

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Auditor General finds 25 financial irregularities at Cape Coast varsity

…As total infractions hit GHC5.46bn at end of 2019

The Auditor General has discovered that 25 instances of financial irregularity took place at the University of Cape Coast and its various colleges and subsidiaries as at the end of 31st December, 2019. 

Corruption Watch’s tabulation of the amount of individual irregularities shows that the infractions involve a total of GHC88,289,417.16. In addition, the amount constitutes 49.09% of irregularities recorded for institutions under the ministry of education. 

According to the Auditor General, “…the Vice Chancellor, Professor Ghartey Ampiah entered into a 10 year Build, Own, Operate and Transfer Agreement with KLEOS UK Ltd for the provision of information and communication technology (ICT) services at a cost of $300,000.00 per year totalling $3,000,000.00 for the contract period without seeking approval from the University Council, the Minister of Education and Public Procurement before committing the University to such financial obligation.” 

The “contract signed by the Vice Chancellor was only witnessed by the Director of ICT services Dr. Regina Gyampoh-Vidogah. Consequently, the Auditor General recommended that “the Vice Chancellor should submit the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer Agreement (BOOT) with KLEOS UK Ltd to the University Council, Minister of Education and Public Procurement Authority for approval, failing which the sanctions in section 92 (1) of the Public Procurement Act shall be applied.”

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PPA, KNUST, UPSA, Graphic, others lead list of internal audit lawbreakers

Corruption Watch has discovered that a high number of regulatory bodies and academic institutions have broken the law requiring them to file annual internal audit plans and quarterly internal audit reports.

A total of 15 regulatory bodies and 12 academic institutions stand accused for defaulting in the submission of required reports as at the end of December 2020. The Public Procurement Authority (PPA), the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Graphic Communications Group Limited are among high profile regulatory,  academic and state institutions, which defaulted in the submission of reports to the Internal Audit Agency (IAA).

The Internal Audit Agency and its staff are supposed to carry out audits before, during and after spending. The expectation, therefore, is that they are in a better position to ‘catch’ the thief before or during the ‘stealing’, making it easier to recover stolen public funds.

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Education on corruption has been underestimated in the country – Kofi Abotsi

The Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA) Kofi Abotsi has called for education on corruption to be intensified in the country.

He says the country has not been able to effectively deal with corruption because education on the vice is downplayed in the country.

“I think that the depth of civic education, particularly in our schools over the years has been problematic and that’s something we will want to look at and intensify so that people group with that mindset of the civic spirit,” he said.

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Corruption Watch: Court registrar fingered in payment diversion

Fred Asiamah revealed there is a full documentary which will soon be aired as well as a petition to the judicial service to resolve such issues.

Corruption Watch has uncovered graft at the Ada Magistrate Court in the Greater Accra Region where some court officials are allegedly diverting and pocketing payments meant for the court.

Frederick Asiamah, a lead investigator at Corruption Watch, who has interacted with a number of victims says he found that the practice had gone on for years, especially at the court registrar’s office.

Giving the details of the investigative piece on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem Friday, Mr Asiamah said he was yet to get any feedback from the registrar, Nana Akwasi Konadu despite numerous text messages and phones calls to him.

Narrating her story on the Segment, Mamle, one of the people who has fallen victim to the ‘take-and-pocket’ scandal said a sum of GHC 7,500 she had paid was delayed for over nine months before part of it was released to the rightful owner.

Another person, Regina Sabbah, a 47-year-old trader and a resident of Bedeku in the Ada East District said since September 2018, she had been expecting to receive GHC 6,500 from the Ada District Court, an amount paid to the court by one Ebenezer Sotti.

The Ada District Court had ordered Ebenezer Sotti to refund the GHC 6,500 to Ms Sabbah while he was standing trial for reselling a piece of land he had earlier sold to her.

So, when in April 2019, court registrar Nana Kwasi Konadu told Ms Sabbah that he handled t GHC 3,300 received from Mr Sotti, Regina assumed the balance of GHC 3,200 was yet to be paid.

To Ms Sabbah’s surprise, Ebenezer Sotti told the court in September 2019 upon being re-arrested that he had made a full payment to the court registrar Nana Kwasi Konadu, last year.

Meanwhile, Mr Sotti has recounted to Corruption Watch that he was denied receipts after initial and final payments.

Lawyer Martin Kpebu, a Private Legal practitioner commenting on the issue, has urged the Judicial Service to investigate the issue to the latter.

“I know the Judicial Service will not be happy with this development and will begin to probe so the media must also conduct follow-ups on the issue,” he urged.

Rule 5 (G) of the Code of Ethics for Employees of the Judicial Service of Ghana states that “an employee of the Judicial Service shall obey all lawful instruction regarding the Judicial Service in the execution of his work.”

Therefore, disregarding lawful instructions laid down by the Service means working outside the rules and laws guiding the Service and amounts to unprofessional conduct and a breach of the code.

Fred Asiamah revealed there is a full documentary which will soon be aired as well as a petition to the Judicial Service to resolve such issues.

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Akufo-Addo must fire Zongo Development Fund CEO over alleged procurement breaches – Edward Bawa

A member of Parliament’s Poverty Reduction Committee is calling for the arrest of Chief Executive for the Zongo Development Fund over alleged procurement breaches.

Edward Bawa also wants investigation into Arafat Sulemana Abdulai’s tenure at the Fund.

The MP’s call comes in the wake of a Corruption Watch investigation which uncovered that the Fund, headed by Arafat Sulemana Abdulai, engaged in malpractices in the purchase of goods, services and works worth ¢5 million.

The management of ZoDF allegedly superintended procurement breaches such as inflation of contract figures and breaching of entity head’s threshold.

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Zongo Dev’t Fund in GH₵ 5M procurement breach

A Corruption Watch investigation has uncovered that the Zongo Development Fund (ZoDF) has engaged in alleged procurement malpractices in the purchase of goods, services and works worth GHC5.0 million. The management of ZoDF allegedly superintended procurement breaches such as inflation of contract figures and breaching of entity head’s threshold.

Corruption Watch established that two hundred thousand Ghana cedis (GHC200,000) of the GHC5.0 million was spent on a contract for COVID-19 PPEs. 

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Adwoa Safo gives NPP Delegates 3,000 cash; Insurance Policy Worth 10,000Ghs

A Corruption Watch investigation has found that Procurement Minister, Sarah Adwoa Safo, allegedly gave GHc3,000 and a GLICO Life Insurance package worth GHc10,000 to delegates in the just ended NPP primaries.

 Her challenger, Michael Aaron Oquaye Jr., Ghana’s High Commissioner to India, on the other hand, allegedly gave GHc3,000, a 32-inch Nasco flat screen television set and an Indian-made cloth to the 500 delegates. The candidates targeted 500 delegates which they needed to win. 

Last dinner to election @ residence of Mike Oquaye Jr

Meanwhile a Corruption Watch follow up check on the GLICO insurance cover found that the cover took effect three days to the election, June 17, 2020 and will expire on June 16, 2021. The “Insurance Interest” was for the benefit of “Delegates of the Dome Kwabenya Constituency

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