A special audit has peeled back the curtain on a web of financial malfeasance at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), exposing how thousands of tonnes of rice and maize have vanished, contracts were handed to unregistered “phantom” companies, and a transport firm was bizarrely paid with bags of rice instead of cash.
The sourcing, payments and distribution of grains were done in 2024 to mitigate the impact of an unusually longer than expected dry spell on vulnerable populations in some farming communities across the country.
Checks at the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) have revealed that two companies contracted by the MoFA to supply grains to it are not registered companies, to wit, they do not exist.
Danaasi Farms was contracted by MoFA to supply over 34,000 tonnes of rice, while Rans Company Ltd, which claims to be a transport and logistics company, was contracted to distribute grains nationwide to support people who had suffered the impact of the 2024 prolonged dry spell.
The special audit, conducted by the Ghana Audit Service in collaboration with the accounting firms EY and PwC, found that while only 24,000 tonnes of the rice were said to be distributed to eight regions, a staggering 10,000 tonnes could not be accounted for.
Again, Rans Company Ltd was paid over GH¢50 million for a job the Auditor-General determined should have cost GH¢30.9 million, a massive overpayment of GH¢19.1 million for transport and distribution.
Sources at the RGD confirmed that no business under those names had been registered under the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992), nor were they listed as sole proprietorships or partnerships.
This means both companies do not legally exist as entities capable of entering into binding contracts with the government.
The scandal, detailed in a report by the Auditor-General, was triggered by a standoff at a Tema warehouse.
Investigation
The investigation began on September 2, 2025, when officials from the Audit Service, acting on a directive from the Ministry of Finance, arrived at a warehouse, belonging to Sikakrobea Company Limited in Tema, to verify rice stocks but were denied entry.
The warehouse manager explained that MoFA had no contract with them, the audit report said.
The manager said a company named Danaasi Farms had stored the rice, but had abandoned it four months ago, failing to pay rent and ceasing all communication.
Sikakrobea management stated they would only grant access to Danaasi, not to MoFA or the auditors.
In a bizarre twist, after locking out the auditors on September 2, MoFA officials returned to the warehouse on September 9.
This time, the doors were opened, but only for the ministry to retrieve 7,000 bags of rice for the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).
Sikakrobea management reiterated that it did not recognise MoFA’s authority to grant access and would only deal with Danaasi Farms.
When investigators eventually gained access to documents, the situation became dire.
The audit report stated that there was a complete breakdown of internal controls.
“There were no Store Receipt Advices (SRAs) to confirm what was actually received, and no delivery notes to verify what was transported,” it said.
The chief procurement officer could not explain the fate of the missing 10,000 tonnes, the special audit report added.
Paid with Rice
In one of the most startling revelations, the audit team uncovered that Rans Company Ltd, a transport firm, was not paid in Ghana Cedis for its services.
Instead, it was given 7,311 tonnes of rice.
The chief procurement officer admitted there was an instruction to issue the rice to the company, but the officer could not produce any authorising memo.
The auditors determined that that quantity of rice, valued at over GH¢11.6 million at market price, was used to settle a debt of GH¢6.28 million for haulage services, effectively granting the company a 41 per cent discount at the taxpayer’s expense.
The Auditor-General is now demanding that the officers involved be surcharged with the market price of the rice.
Maize
MoFA submitted stores receipt advice as evidence of delivery of the 100,000 tonnes of maize worth GH¢771.2 million to Ministry of Finance for payment, but only 11,900 tonnes was supplied and distributed.
Interestingly, the audit pointed out that the stores receipt advice was supported by a checklist that was certified by the internal auditor of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
The female MoFA officer admitted to the auditors that she had not visited the maize warehouse since February last year and could not even identify its location.
The Auditor-General’s team was consequently unable to verify the existence of any of the maize stocks.
Background
The country experienced a dry spell in 2024, primarily driven by climate change, causing devastating impacts on agricultural production, particularly in the northern parts of the country.
The prolonged lack of rainfall, especially between July and August 2024, resulted in widespread crop failure and significant losses to smallholder farmers.
Key impacts
According to MoFA, over 460,784 hectares of farmland were affected, with major crops such as maize, rice, groundnut, soybean, sorghum, millet, and yam severely damaged.
The ministry estimated the impact to be severe in eight regions, namely Northern, Upper East, North East, Savannah, Upper West, Bono, Bono East and Oti.
The government said approximately 435,872 farmers were said to be directly affected, with massive investment losses estimated at around GH¢3.5 billion.
The dry spell triggered fears of severe food shortages, leading to a dramatic surge in food prices, particularly in cities including Tamale.
In response to the crisis, the government announced a GH¢8 billion ($500 million) support plan to mitigate the damage, including incentives of GH¢1,000 per hectare for affected farmers.
The United States also provided $3 million in aid to support affected smallholder farmers.
Source: Graphic
Click to read more:
Source:
opemsuo.com