Withholding audit information or underreporting on COVID-19 fumigation is a serious offence – Domelevo

Former Auditor-General Daniel Domelovo says either withholding information from auditors or underreporting COVID-19 fumigation expenditure would constitute a serious offence. His comments follow an investigation by journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni, which found that government spent at least GH¢720 million on COVID-19 fumigation, although the Auditor-General’s special audit captured only GH¢96 million. Speaking on Joy FM’s Midday News, Mr Domelovo said institutions being audited are legally required to provide the Auditor-General with the necessary information.

“If the ministry refused to give the information, then that is a serious offence. If it is also that the audit was not done well, then that is also a serious professional misconduct. Any of them would be a serious offence,” he said.

He described the apparent discrepancy between the amount captured in the audit and the expenditure identified by the investigation as “very disturbing” if the latter figure is accurate. “Let’s hope and pray rather that the figure Manasseh has is not correct. If it is correct, then I think the Auditor-General has an answer,” he added.

The former Auditor-General said the circumstances surrounding the audit must therefore be clarified to determine whether information was withheld or the expenditure was improperly reported. The special audit, conducted in 2022, was commissioned following a request by then Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to examine COVID-19 expenditure by ministries, departments and agencies between 2020 and June 2022. The investigation examined spending by the Ministries of Education, Transport and Local Government and found evidence indicating that fumigation expenditure was significantly higher than the GH¢96 million recorded in the special audit.

Former Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo says either information could have been withheld from auditors or the audit may not have been properly conducted to explain the significant gap in reported COVID-19 fumigation expenditure. Speaking on Joy FM’s Midday News on Tuesday, September 15, he said the discrepancy, if the findings of the investigation are factual, could have resulted from two possible circumstances. “One, the information may have been denied to the auditors; the auditors didn’t have that information, or the audit was not planned and carried out well,” he explained.

He said either situation would be concerning. Mr Domelevo further noted that if public officials deliberately withheld information from the auditors, it could amount to a serious offence under Section 33 of the Audit Service Act, which relates to the refusal to provide information required for an audit. “But if it is not that they hid information and the audit which reported or underreported, then that is more serious,” he added.