GhanaPoliticsOnline.Com
The recent audit of the COVID-19
expenditure has revealed that some senior and supporting staff of the Ministry of Information, headed by Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, illegally paid themselves an amount of GHS151,500.00 as risk allowance during the pandemic.
The Auditor General’s report, which covered the expenditure as well as the amount received into government coffers during the period of March 2020 and June 2022, noted that the Ministry took the decision on the basis that they worked every day of the week.
Unlike the government’s decision to pay some frontline workers an additional amount including
tax holidays as compensation, the report noted that the Ministry’s move had no executive approval.
“During our review, we noted that senior management staff and other supporting staff of the Ministry of Information paid themselves a total amount of GHS151,500.00 as COVID-19 risk allowance for coming to work during the lockdown period contrary to the above Presidential directives and without approval from the Office of Chief of Staff.” the Auditor General’s
report says in part.
The report instructed for the said amount to be refunded with immediate effect into the Auditor
General’s recovery fund.
“We recommended that the amount of
GHS151,500.00 should be recovered from the beneficiary staff and paid into the Auditor-General’s Recoveries account,” it ordered.
