Three Assemblies blow GHC107,329 state cash on 'ghost' contracts

Three District Assemblies in the Brong Ahafo Region have come under the microscope of the Auditor-General for blowing a total amount of GHC107,329.85 on ghost contracts.

They are Banda, Tano North, and Dormaa Central District Assemblies.

The three Assemblies, according to the Auditor-General in his 2015 audited report on the “Management and utilization of District Assemblies’ Common Fund and other statutory funds for the year ended December 31, paid for works and services contracts valued at GHC107,329.85 “which could not be substantiated”.

For instance, the Banda District Assembly blew whopping amount of GHC73,795.85 on the non-existence project.

Tano North District Assembly, on the other hand, spent GHC19,800.00 on the unsubstantiated works and services contract while Dormaa Central District Assembly blew a total of GHC13,734.00 on the ghost contracts.

According to the report, all the items the Assemblies claimed to have spent the money on which was captured in the Bills of Quantities were not undertaken by the contractors.

In addition to that, neither did School Feeding Caterers nor teachers acknowledge receipts and issued letters of physical performance by the caterers respectively.

In the view of the Auditor-General, “payments for unexecuted contracts would drain the Assemblies’ coffers and likely to stall the developmental agenda of the Assemblies.

To this effect, the number one state auditor strongly recommended that the Coordinating Directors and Finance Officers of the three District Assemblies who supervised payments for the ghost contracts should account for the total amount involved and also be sanctioned in accordance with the law for breach of financial discipline.