In order for the nation to recover $81,87 million, the Auditor-General has instructed the Ministry of Health to re-negotiate the supply of Covid-19 vaccines with UNICEF/AVAT.
A special audit of the government's COVID-19 transactions from March 2020 to June 2022 included this as one of its recommendations.
According to the report, the Ghanaian government's Ministry of Health paid UNICEF/AVAT $120.19 million for the supply of vaccines.
However, the National Cold Room received 5,109,600 vaccine doses worth $38.32 million, leaving UNICEF/AVAT with an $81.87 million deficit.
“In order to recover the outstanding amount, we recommended that the Chief Director of the Ministry of Health renegotiate with UNICEF/AVAT.
According to the report, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Health explained that the amount was paid in anticipation of receiving all vaccines for vaccination in the country within a short period of time. However, the country was unable to receive the paid-for Janssen vaccines due to unexpected vaccine donations, limited vaccine storage capacity, and Ghanaians' slow uptake of vaccination.
According to the report, if the contract was not renegotiated, there might be a loss of money.
The special audit, which was sent to Parliament, found that Ghana raised GH21.84 billion to lessen the effects of COVID-19 in the country.
It suggests that the funds were obtained from the Contingency Fund, the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Union (EU), and the sale of BoG-COVID-19 Bonds for the fiscal years 2020, 2021, and 2022 in order to finance the Coronavirus Alleviation Program and the implementation of the Ghana COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan, in addition to providing budgetary support.
It stated that GH19.11 billion was raised in 2020, GH1.97 billion was raised in 2021, and GH753.32 million was raised up until June of last year to support the Ghana COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan and the Coronavirus Alleviation Program.
Spending on COVID-19 Out of the more than GH21.84 billion that was raised, more than GH11.75 billion was used for COVID-19 activities, and the remainder was used for budget support.
"On COVID-19 activities, we noted that GH8,658,496,124.96 was spent in 2020, GH3,084,311,725.45 was spent in 2021, and GH7,875,208.70 was spent in 2022 to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic's impact."
The report states that the $1 billion the government received from the IMF on April 22, 2020, which is equivalent to GH5.56 billion, was used for liability management, the allocation of the District Assemblies Common Fund for the fourth quarter, the allocation of the NABCO for the second quarter, the allocation of the LEAP program for the first quarter, the allocation of the Free SHS Program for the second semester of the 2019/2020 academic year, free water and electricity, and the capitalization of the Development Bank of Ghana.
The audit also found that the Ministry of Health received $328.568 million, or GH1.98 billion, which was used for things like medical equipment, cleaning supplies, medicines, consulting, a storage facility for vaccines and deployment, life insurance, and the construction, leasing, and renting of treatment and isolation centers.
It added that the money was used for liability management, statutory payments to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND), and other Government of Ghana expenditures as budget support. "We observed that the Bank of Ghana, in May and September 2020, transferred a total amount of GH10 billion to the Controller and Accountant General as proceeds from the Bank of Ghana COVID-19 Bonds issued," it read.
The remaining GH21.84 billion was used for budget support, with GH11.75 billion going toward COVID-19 activities.
According to the report, on May 6, 2020, the Ministry of Finance paid Smart Infraco Limited GH23,388,750 for the provision of smart workspace platforms to facilitate virtual workspaces for ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs). However, the Ministry of Finance did not deduct withholding tax of GH1,754,156.25 from the payment that was made to Smart Infraco Limited.
The report called for the Ministry of Finance to get the company to pay the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority the sum of GH1,754,156.25.
It stated that the ministry had increased the cost of five contracts with a total contract value of GH24.26 million through variation orders without the approval of the Central Tender Review Committee by GH4.02 million and recommended that the Chief Director seek retroactive approval to avoid disallowing such a variation amount.
Ambulances that haven't been delivered It also said that the Ministry of Health had signed a contract on December 15, 2021, for the supply of 26 Toyota Hiace Deluxe ambulances that were worth just over $4 million. Of that, $607,419 had been paid for as of September 2, 2022, and they were supposed to be delivered by January 15, 2022.
However, as of November 28, 2022, no ambulances had been delivered, and the report suggested that the Chief Director make certain that they were delivered "no further than the extended date of March 2023."
GIFMIS platform The Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378) stipulated that a covered entity's commitment and payment must be made within a commitment ceiling established based on budget availability in the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).
However, the report found that in 2020, 102 payment vouchers were used to transfer funds to MDAs outside of the GIFMIS platform, provide hotel accommodations, evacuate Ghanaians, and provide fuel, among other services.
It read, "Similarly, in 2021, manual cash books on excel spread sheets and manual cheques other than GIFMIS were used to pay GH311,907,753.13 for personal protective equipment, hotel accommodation, and fumigation."
Payments to service providers and transfers to MDAs related to COVID-19 should also be processed and paid through the GIFMIS, according to the report. The Ministry of Finance COVID-19 response account should also be listed in the GIFMIS.
