‘We Do Not Need To Arrest People At This Point’ – PAC Vice Chair On COVID-19 Fumigation Audit Report
Davis Ansah Opoku says the immediate focus should be on clarifying discrepancies in the Auditor-General’s COVID-19 fumigation expenditure report.
- PAC Vice Chair Davis Ansah Opoku says arrests are not necessary at this stage.
- He wants the Audit Service to explain why some fumigation expenditure was not captured.
- An investigation identified discrepancies between the audit figure and ministry records
Vice Chairperson of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Davis Ansah Opoku, says there is no need to arrest anyone at this stage over alleged discrepancies in the Auditor-General’s special audit on COVID-19 fumigation expenditure.
The Mpraeso MP said the immediate priority should be for the Audit Service to explain why expenditure by the Ministries of Local Government and Transport was not captured in the report.
His comments follow investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni’s latest investigation into COVID-19 expenditure, which raised questions about the amount reported as having been spent on fumigation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the investigation, the Auditor-General’s special audit reported GH¢96.3 million in COVID-19 fumigation expenditure, while documents from the Ministries of Education, Local Government and Transport indicated that at least GH¢780 million was spent on fumigation.
However, Mr Ansah Opoku said the GH¢96.3 million figure should not automatically be interpreted as the total expenditure on COVID-19 fumigation.
He explained that the GH¢96.3 million figure related specifically to a Ghana Education Service activity and was captured in the Auditor-General’s report.
The PAC Vice Chair therefore called for clarification of the figures before any further action is considered.
