By Enyichukwu Enemanna
An audit report of COVID-19 funds in Ghana has alleged that officials of government misappropriated or mismanaged resources dedicated to fighting the pandemic.
The 119-page report highlighted irregularities in the management of some tranches of the funds.
The report on the government’s COVID-19 expenditure covers the period of March 2020 to June 2022.
According to the report, a total of GH¢21,844,189,185.24 (over a billion US$) was mobilised to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana.
However, it observed irregularities in the payment of unapproved risk allowance at the ministry of information.
It appeared that “senior management staff and other supporting staff” of the ministry paid themselves a total amount of GH¢151,500.00 as COVID-19 risk allowance for coming to work during the lockdown period.”
It says this is contrary to the “presidential directives and without approval from the office of chief of staff.”
Only frontline health workers were to receive an additional allowance of 50 percent of their basic salary per month for March, April, May and June.
The report went on to say that the authorities failed to take delivery of some COVID-19 jabs it paid for. The Ghanaian Ministry of Health paid an amount of US$120,192,379.80 to UNICEF/AVAT for the supply of vaccines.
However, just “5,109,600.00 doses of vaccines valued at US$38,322,000.00 were supplied to the National Cold Room.”
The Chief Director of the Ministry of Health explained that the amount was paid in anticipation of receiving all the vaccines within a short space of time for vaccination in the country.
He cited “unexpected vaccine donations into the country, coupled with limited vaccine storage capacity and the slow uptake by Ghanaians to be vaccinated” as factors that made it impossible to receive the Janssen “vaccines that had been paid for”.
This was leaving a difference of over 81 billion US$.
Some Ghanaians took to Twitter to voice their disappointment and tagged the report #NPPGrandCovidTheft.
The Ghana audit service carried out the audit in accordance with its statutory mandate and following a request by the Minister for Finance.
