There are question marks over how the so-called Auditor General’s report got into the hands of Mr. Bagbin.
Although the special projects report is supposed to have emanated from the office of the Auditor General, he himself got to know of it only last Friday.
Significantly, minority leader, Alban Bagbin, started quoting from the report days before last Friday.
“Our investigations at the AG’s department have shown that the Auditor General does not know anything about the said repot which cites former chief of staff and currently minister for information and presidential affairs, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey and minister for private sector development, Kwamena Bartels, for wrong-doing in the award of contracts for the renovation of the Castle and four government bungalows respectively.”
The AG is reported to have told the paper that he could not tell whether the report was an interim or final one.
“He however gave the assurance that his outfit was studying and going through it and “would issue a statement on the Special Project Report soon”.
The AG according to reports later convened a meeting to study the report. The marathon meeting, which he held with, his three deputies, lasted well over four hours.
The report which is an interim one is supposed to be a query for the officials involved to answer questions on certain issues which were not clear to the group of auditors who probed the renovation of the castle and the four government bungalows under the Ministry of Works and Housing.
“Indeed we established that the directors and those with answers to offer on issues raised in the interim report or the query at the ministry of works and housing have already responded to the queries which will be reflected in the final report of the AG’s outfit,” the paper says.
Financial and economic experts are skeptical about the report and suggested that the minority leader might have had the interim report from the Public Accounts Committee, which he heads.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Yaw Barimah (MP) expressed regret that an interim report could get into the public domain before the final draft.
“It’s unfortunate that an interim report that sought to question certain ministers on the award of contracts should be used as a basis to attack those ministers”.
Available records at the ministry, the minister says show that the said bungalows were put on open tender for bidding from qualified contractors and it was upon that basis that the contract for refurbishment of the four bungalows and the Castle were awarded.
Bartels says he cannot be blamed for any malfeasance because as a new minister at the time, he only followed advice from officials of the Public Services Commission to rehabilitate the said bungalows, which hitherto were considered as condemned properties, at the cost of ?162 million.
“As a new minister, I did not know the assets of the ministry and had to rely on my directors to tell me which of the government bungalows were to be rehabilitated”.
