A special audit report is prepared under section 16 of the Audit Service Act, 2000 (Act 584) for submission to Parliament.
It details various expenditure incurred by Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
According to the Auditor-General, the government paid more than $120m to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) but only $38m worth was disbursed.
Section 83 of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) requires the head of the purchasing unit to convene a review board comprising representatives of departments holding obsolete stores, which shall report on the items and subject to a technical report. Recommend the best way to dispose of them.
The report noted that 1,022,348 doses of vaccines received at the National Cold Room and issued to user facilities have expired in various districts and regions.
“On COVID-19 activities, we observed that GH¢8,658,496,124.96 was spent in 2020, GH¢3,084,311,725.45 in 2021, and GH¢7,875,208.70 in 2022. In the Government of Ghana’s report on the audit of the cost of COVID-19.
The AG’s report has sparked debate among Ghanaians on social media.
Some expressed dismay at the AG’s report and tagged the report #NPPGrandCovidTheft on Twitter.