Former Auditor-General, Yao Domelevo, has suggested that persons responsible for various infractions in the Covid-19 expenditure report by the Auditor-General must be surcharged.
The A-G in the report revealed a number of illegal and corrupt activities in government’s expenditure for Covid-19 between March 2020 and June 2022.
A number of the corrupt activities which were identified were payment of a total of US$607,419.02 out of US$4,049,460.12 for procurement of 26 ambulances which were not delivered, payment of unapproved ¢151,500 by the Information Ministry to its own staff as covid insurance, payment of $80m worth of vaccines by government which was not delivered, amongst other infractions.
Responding to these infractions, Mr Domelevo said the A-G should immediately serve notice of surcharge and disallowance to persons responsible for the infractions in the report.
This, he explained, would curb the “culture of impunity” in the public sector.
“I was waiting to hear that following this report, these people who are misusing money have been surcharged because if we do not do that, we can continuously audit thousand and one times, but we will continue getting these infractions and even people get emboldened because they feel that nothing will be done as a result of this report,” he said in an interview on The Pulse, Monday.
The winner of the 2019 integrity personality award by Ghana Integrity Initiative believes there must be consequences for these infractions to prevent recurrence irrespective of whatever consequences.
Reacting to the question of why the A-G is yet to surcharge any individual, he explained that Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu may be taking a “precautionary measure” to prevent being ‘forced out of office.’
“It is not every public sector worker or Auditor-General who may like to face the consequences of doing his work as it is supposed to be…the Akans have it that the ‘tree that Ananse dies under, Ntikumah, his son does not go and sleep under it’ so maybe that is why,” he stated.
He commended the Auditor-General for the report on the Covid-19 expenditure.