The Auditor-General has hinted that his outfit will soon conduct construction audit on roads and buildings undertaken contractors to ensure value for money.
Speaking at the launch of the 2018 audit in Accra yesterday, Auditor-General Daniel Yaw Domelevo, said this would help stem the rapid disintegration of roads which are commissioned in pomp and pageantry.
“We are going to look at them. When I was with the World Bank, I knew there was a facility where you could go and take a cylinder sample of the bitumen and go to laboratory and test. Fortunately, I found those equipment in Ghana and I was surprised.
“They are not expensive. They are about GH¢22,000. So we are going to buy them. And please don’t ask me whether accountants would be able to do this.”
According to him, the Audit Service, aside accountants, has engineers, surveyors, architects, among others, who can carry out the exercise.
“When you construct, we will follow you.”
Panic reactions
He also advised the audience, comprising chief executives, board members and other management executives of public institutions, to react positively to audit observations.
“When you receive audit observations from our staff which is between management and the audit team, do not send it to people to come and plead for you.
“It’s not right. It’s a confidential document between you and the audit team. It is not a judgment. It is an observation. You can write back and make corrections with evidence.
“I want to plead with you ladies and gentlemen that when observations are made, don’t panic at all. Just look at the issues raised. If you don’t have the documents, be honest and say I don’t have it.”
Missing receipts
Mr. Domelevo also complained about missing receipts. “What is disturbing most times is that when we ask you to give receipts for the payments that you made, you don’t have the receipts. But three years later when we are going for public accounts committee, those receipts come up. You manufacture those receipts and think that is accountability?”
He cited an instance at a public accounts hearing in Tamale recently where people who failed to produce receipts in 2015 suddenly produced false ones.
“So I want to plead with you that if you need to even refund the money, refund the money. It’s better than falsifying the receipts. It will land you into more trouble. People spend government money and falsify documents again to clear it.”
Call for assistance
He advised heads of institutions, who need to resolve particular financial management challenges in their institutions to draw the attention of the Audit Service for timely assistance.
“Regulation 20 and 50 of the audit service regulation says that we should be able to take complaint and follow it up with regards to financial management abuses and etc. So that is why I said it’s a collective responsibility.”
“We are not against each other. And when our team comes, feel free to point areas where you feel we should be able to do better to help your institutions.”
T&T for audit staff
He also warned the institutional heads against pre-financing the audit exercises of the Auditor General’s staff when they call at their offices.
“If you have money for transportation, give it to your staff, not my staff. I have transport and lunch in my budget. So please keep away those courtesies from my people.”
Numerous infractions
“The infractions on public procurement are too many. Under Section 91 of the Public Procurement Act, the Auditor-General is actually required to do procurement audit which you have not done.”
Revenue losses
He added: “Government is losing a lot of revenue. In public financial management, you see it storming at the door but when you go and look inside, there’s nothing for you to see. People are paying much but the money does not reach government. Some middle men are trapping all the money. So we have engaged the services of GRA to mobilise all such revenue.”
Revenue collectors
Noting that his outfit would hold revenue collectors accountable for their misdeeds, he said Article 187 Clause 7 says “anytime government loses money, we can disallow and surcharge the person whose negligence or non-performance or misbehaviour brought it. It’s time we don’t only surcharge expenditure but also revenue.”
By Samuel Boadi