MR AUDITOR-GENERAL, YOUR PROSECUTORIAL POWERS MUST BE EXTENDED TO COVER THE PERIOD BETWEEN 2000 AND 2013

I stated in my earlier article that the Auditor-General must be allowed to execute his role with professional independence and still stand by that position.

I also stated that politicising report is no cure for audit queries. The role of an auditor- general may includes providing expert, independent, public opinions on the financial affairs of government and its agencies and the efficiency, economy and effectiveness with which government use the resources and power provided them by the taxpayer. There will always be a requirement for some official(s) with a duty to stand apart from executive government to review, independently assess and report to the people. In my opinion an auditor- general should always be mindful that his ultimate responsibility is to the people but not to the government of the day and its propagandists.

The Auditor-General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo has called on the Attorney General to grant his office powers and authority to prosecute and surcharge individuals who infringe on procurement laws. His comments come in the wake of some Ghc 5.4 billion wrongfully (allegedly) paid to contractors and other service providers by officials at various ministries between 2014 and 2017. His call is a good one and should be supported by all true anti- corruption
crusaders. That not withstanding, we should be mindful of changes in the locus and dispersion of prosecutorial authority and how failing prosecutorial checks on prosecutorial decision can allow prosecutors to impose drastic measures on selected targets without constraints traditionally associated with the rule of law. Judicial control etc all limit prosecutorial discretion. We need to look at all these constraints and other relevant issues as we discuss the Auditor- General’s request.

I am happy people who attacked the former President for appointing the current auditor-general have started hailing this very soul they vehemently condemned few months ago. My appeal to the auditor-general is that- he should extend his request to cover the period between 2000 and 2011 to review, independently assess and report to the people to enable him prosecute all his will indict. In reviewing the auditor general’s role we look at its independence, strength, institutional memory, adaptability and continued professionalism. All the reports covering the period between the years 2000 and 2011 are sitting I’m his office and we expect him to act on them with same alacrity he is handling the report covering 2014 to 2017. Here are few facts one needs to remind the auditor general of –

These are few facts gathered under the zero tolerance for corruption administration of the President Kufour
-The national Secretariat of the school feeding programme claimed to have transferred Gh363,549,000 to the districts but the districts reported that nothing was disbursed into their accounts. These are few examples to help the AG. North Tongue GH 134,100.00 and GH 78,600,000.00, GH 55,500,000- Wenaw BA GH 146,553,000.00 , GH 65,403,000.00, GH 81,150,000- Keta VR GH 170,955,000.00, GH 108,030.00, GH 65,925,000.

Within the period (under Kufour) contracts were awarded to companies that did not exist at the time the contracts were awarded to them

– Dekoom Ventures were awarded contract to supply Kitchen inputs to the school feeding programme on 16th January 2006 however checks at the registrar generals department revealed that Dekoom Ventures was not a registered company. The report also revealed that by December 2006, the Npp administration had paid more than GH 5.7 billion to companies that had no business registration certificate and some of these companies some of the companies and moneys paid to them-

– Supernatural Ventures GH 789, 283.00

– Danving Enterprise GH 8,281,760

– F&A Investments GH 4,042,107,558

– Wendy Rose Enterprise GH 285,121.000

– Maami Leak Enterprise GH 375,412.000

– Royal Choice GH 99,423.5000

– Chakan Enterprise GH 96,756,000

Total – GH 5,770,915,218.

Two companies that were awarded contracts had the same VAT invoice number. Godish Enterprise and Kaldal Ltd both used invoice number 10803905. The Auditor General must also revisit the 2005 auditor general’s report on what happened at the foreign affairs ministry.

An amount of US$ 1446,396 was withdrawn from the foreign affairs ministry’s special account of seven embassies without the knowledge of the controller and accountant general. If the auditor general go through reports available in his office, he will see that in 2004, a company called Axis Advertising Ltd which was owned by Ms Oboshie Said Cofie, then Minister of Tourism and Diaspora Affairs and a close confidant of President Kufour was awarded a media consultancy contract to monitor and revise media campaign and advertisement. Axis advertising was sole sourced by the National Health Insurance Council as media consultant. However two companies, Media Plus and Media Touch Production Ltd ( where Oboshie Sai Coffie was also director) were contracted by the council to post advertisement at various media houses. These two companies charged agency service fee/ commission totalling GH 359,286 for the same services provided by Axis Advertising Ltd.

Mr Auditor General, the 2006 Auditor General report revealed evidence of fraud, gross disregard of the procurement Act 2003. It was also revealed that on 28th May 2007 alone, an amount of GH 234.15 billion were taken away from the vaults of Bank of Ghana without the knowledge of the vault manager. When he complained he was sacked in a letter dated 30th July 2007. May be you should find out why Roko Frimpong who objected to the manner in which the re- denomination of the cedi was done, was killed in his house.