A special audit into Ghana’s unpaid debts has uncovered GH¢21.35 billion suspicious, duplicated and fictitious claims in state coffers, compelling a government pledge to prosecute all individuals involved in what it terms a “systemic plunder” of the public purse.
The amount is made up of GH¢8.1 billion outright rejection and GH¢13.26 billion that must be justified before payments can be effected.
The disallowed amounts were part of GH¢68.7 billion submitted to the Ministry of Finance as unpaid Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs), invoices and Bank Transfer Advices (BTAs) owed to contractors and suppliers.
The government, in July last year, tasked the Ghana Audit Service, working in partnership with EY and PwC, to verify and validate GH¢68.7 billion submitted to the Ministry of Finance in unpaid Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs), invoices and Bank Transfer Advices (BTAs) owed to contractors and suppliers.
The outstanding IPCs and invoices amounted to GH¢50.5 billion, while outstanding Bank BTAs amounted to GH¢18.3 billion.
Presenting the findings of the Auditor-General’s report on Arrears and Payables as of the end of 2024 to Parliament yesterday, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, revealed that out GH¢68.7 billion in claims submitted for verification, only GH¢45.4 billion was deemed valid for payment.
The rest — GH¢8.1 billion — was outrightly rejected due to a litany of irregularities, including unsupported documentation, duplications, overstatements and claims for work never done.
A further GH¢13.3 billion is still under scrutiny pending the provision of adequate documentation.
Delivering the statement on behalf of the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Mr Nyarko Ampem told the House that the findings painted a picture of a “rotten system designed to fleece the people of Ghana.”
“This report exposes the systemic plunder and abuse of the public financial management system,” Mr Nyarko Ampem stated.
“By the time I am done, it will become clear that something needed to be done to save our economy,” he added.
Fictitious 1D1F Debt
Among the most alarming discoveries was a fictitious debt of GH¢89.4 million under the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
According to the audit, the ministry submitted a request to settle interest payments under the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative with five commercial banks.
However, when auditors contacted the banks, every single one confirmed they were owed nothing by the government under the arrangement.
“Without the audit intervention, a whopping GH¢89.4 million of hard-earned public money could have been disbursed to settle this non-existent liability,” Mr Nyarko Ampem revealed.
The report further detailed another case where payment of GH¢10.5 million was recorded as having been made into a non-existent “Buffer Account” at a commercial bank, with the account number cited not conforming to the bank’s format.
In the light of the findings, Mr Nyarko Ampem announced that the entire 1D1F scheme would be subjected to a forensic audit.
Dry Spell Expenditure
The audit also uncovered significant discrepancies in the distribution of relief supplies by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) during the 2024 dry spell.
The government paid for 34,000 tonnes of rice to address the impact of the dry spell, but the ministry received and distributed only 24,000 tonnes.
The remaining 10,000 tonnes, fully paid for, remains unaccounted for, the audit stated.
In a separate transaction, MoFA submitted stores receipt advice claiming delivery of 100,000 tonnes of maize worth GH¢771.2 million.
However, the audit revealed that only 11,900 tonnes was actually supplied and distributed.
Further compounding the issues at MoFA, a transportation company contracted under the Farmer Food Relief Programme was paid GH¢61.7 million for transporting 35,000 tonnes of grains, despite the contract sum for that volume being GH¢30.9 million.
The company was also given 7,311 tonnes of rice in lieu of cash for no work done, Mr Nyarko Ampem told Parliament.
As a result, he said, the Auditor-General rejected an additional GH¢65.2 million the ministry sought to pay the company.
Recycled, Duplicated Claims
Perhaps the most staggering finding was the attempt to claim payments for work that had already been settled.
The audit identified claims amounting to GH¢4.4 billion, which had already been paid between 2020 and 2024, were being fraudulently resubmitted for payment, the Deputy Finance Minister said.
He said the Ministry of Roads and Highways topped the list with GH¢3.6 billion in recycled claims, followed by the Ministry of Health (GH¢384.8 million) and the Ministry of Energy (GH¢216.7 million).
Duplicated and overstated claims from various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) totalled another GH¢1.4 billion.
The National Service Scheme alone overstated its allowance arrears by GH¢334.5 million.
Unfounded Trainee Arrears
A claim for GH¢160 million in unpaid allowances for teacher trainees was also debunked.
When auditors engaged the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), it was confirmed that as of December 2024, no such arrears existed.
The report also highlighted a dangerous pattern of falsified documents.
The Ministry of Defence submitted a Stores Receipt Advice (SRA) for vehicles worth GH¢4.8 million intended for border surveillance, even though the vehicles were never delivered.
Similarly, the Judicial Service had an SRA for seven Toyota saloon cars dated October 2024, but the supplier later wrote to the service admitting they could not supply the vehicles.
Government’s Response
Presenting the report, Mr Nyarko Ampem stated that the Minister of Finance had formally referred the report to the Attorney-General to prosecute all individuals responsible.
“This moment marks a decisive break from the past. A reset of public financial management,” he said.
“Going forward, no payment will be made without full verification, no commitment will be entered into without budgetary allocation, and no officer, regardless of rank, will be shielded from accountability,” he added.
The Deputy Finance Minister emphasised that the government’s decision to halt payments in January 2025 had saved the state from losing an additional GH¢1 billion in fraudulent Bank Transfer Advices (BTAs).
“The Mahama administration refuses to accept this rotten system. We refuse to ask the Ghanaian people to pay for fraud,” Mr Nyarko Ampem added.
Source: Graphic
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