The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has referred the Ministry of Finance to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice for prosecution over procurement infractions amounting to GH¢1.3 million, flagged in the 2024 Auditor General’s Report.
The decision was taken at a PAC sitting yesterday after it emerged that the Ministry had breached the Public Procurement Act by awarding contracts above the allowable thresholds without approval from its entity tender committee.
According to the Auditor General’s findings, the Finance Ministry awarded three separate contracts for hotel services, each exceeding the prescribed limit.
The contracts included a conference workshop for the preparation of the 2024 budget implementation instructions at GH¢145,075.31; a residential and conference package for the annual Budget Divisional Staff Retreat at GH¢956,170.23; and another conference workshop for the preparation of the 2024 budget implementation instructions for all covered entities at GH¢293,796.81.
Together, the contracts amounted to GH¢1,369,042.35. The Auditor General concluded that this contravened Section 18 of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663), as amended, which sets clear thresholds for procurement.
Ministry’s Response
Defending the Ministry, Director of Internal Audit, Jacob Ahadzi, admitted that the breach was the result of “an inappropriate procurement method” used in awarding the contracts.
He stressed, however, that the Ministry had generally complied with procurement rules, explaining, “This issue occurred as a result of the Ministry using an inappropriate procurement method.”
Mr. Ahadzi added, “Overall, the Ministry has been adhering strictly to the requirements of the Public Procurement Act. This was one of the few exceptions.”
But PAC members were not satisfied with the explanation. The Ranking Member of the Committee, Samuel Atta Mills, reminded Mr. Ahadzi that under Section 92 of the Public Procurement Act, the Chief Director of the Ministry was required to initiate sanctions against officers responsible for such breaches.
When asked if this had been done, Mr. Ahadzi conceded it had not. “No, Madam Chair. The process has not been carried out,” he admitted.
Referral to Attorney General
That admission prompted the Committee to escalate the matter, with the Ranking Member, Samuel Atta Mills, ruling that the Ministry must be referred to the Attorney General for prosecution.
“We are recommending you to the Attorney General for prosecution on this one. Simple,” he declared and continued, “When it comes to procurement, we are not going to mess with it. You know it and I know it.”
Procurement Challenges Cited
The Ministry, in its official management response to the Auditor General’s report, had earlier argued that it faced “practical challenges in adhering to procurement thresholds for hotel services” under the Public Procurement Act.
Mr. Ahadzi also reiterated at the sitting that steps were being taken to improve compliance going forward.
“The Ministry has plans to train all divisional heads on the provisions of the Procurement Act to ensure that this does not happen again,” he assured the committee.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliamentary Correspondent