Irregularities of approximately GH¢53.6 million occurred in the operations and management of funds by Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) last year, the Auditor General has disclosed.
However, the figure (exactly GH¢53,636,715.87) dropped from the total irregularities of GH¢66,130,366.12 recorded in 2021, as well as the lowest since 2018.
In 2018, irregularities discovered were GH¢120,567,896.78; it increased to GH¢124,640,845.92 in 2019, but reduced to GH¢77,147,260.10 in 2020, and further down to GH¢66,130,366.12 in 2021.
This was captured in the report of the Auditor-General on the management and utilisation of District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) and other statutory funds for the year ended December 31, 2022, sighted by the Ghanaian Times.
The report noted that in compliance with Section 129 (b) of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), the Administrator of DACF distributed a total amount of GH¢370,000,000.00 to the 261 Assemblies.
Out of this amount, GH¢108,213,400.00 was deducted at source in favour of Service Providers with net inflows of GH¢261,786,600.00 or 70.8 per cent to the Assemblies.
Out of the 53.6 million irregularities, cash irregularities were 12,092,429.97, higher than the 2021 figure of 7,511,747.85; procurement, GH¢751,010.75, up from GH¢642,269.42; and tax shot up from GH¢495,646.19 to GH¢374,447.37
Contract irregularities were the ones that reduced from GH¢57,601,901.48 in 2021 to GH¢40,297,628.96 last year, resulting in the overall reduction in irregularities.
In a case by case detail, the report revealed that cash irregularities were reported in 110 Assemblies and were mainly due to funds disbursed without relevant supporting documents, misapplication or transfers from Common Fund to other accounts, over-utilisation of Common Fund on recurrent expenditure, non-implementation of approved social interventions and inaccessibility of funds with a rural bank.
It also showed that due to inefficient mobilisation of internally generated funds, the Assemblies continued to rely on the Common Fund and other earmarked funds for their recurrent expenditure to the detriment of development at the local level.
Instances of disbursements not supported with relevant expenditure documents due to apathy on the part of Management of the Assemblies to ensure compliance with Laws and Regulations on disbursements of public funds were also discovered.
“I recommended refund of all misapplied funds from the IGF accounts of the Assemblies into the DACF accounts. I also recommended the recovery of unaccounted funds from Coordinating Directors, Finance Officers and other defaulting officials of the Assemblies involved as a punitive measure to ensure judicious use of public funds,” the report said.
For contract irregularities, which were mainly in the areas of completed projects which were not in use and abandoned projects, the recommendation was that those abandoned should be put to use and the completion of the others prioritised.
Under Sanitation Management Irregularities, the Auditor General recommended that Zoomlion Ghana Ltd (ZGL), the service provider, supplied 42 trucks and 157 containers and also repair or replace 34 broken down trucks and 109 damaged containers for 69 Assemblies per agreements between the parties.
The parties were also to review an upward revision of quarterly fees made by ZGL without communication to the Assemblies in violation of the provisions in the Agreement.
While the report asked for refund of monies lost to procurement and stores irregularities, it asked Assemblies involved to comply with the relevant provisions of the tax law else finance officers would be personally held liable for any penalties that may arise.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
