The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will not consider the special audit report on the Embassy of Ghana in Washington, D.C., during its hearings on the Auditor General’s 2025 reports. Committee Chairperson Hon. Abena Osei Asare said the Auditor General wrote to Parliament to withdraw the report, which covers 2017 to 2025.
The report on the 13th All African Games has also been stepped down. Hon. Osei Asare said the committee will not look at either report until they are brought back, and that the public should know why they are missing from the schedule.
Auditor General’s Letter Prompts Withdrawal
The Chairperson made the announcement before the hearings got under way, describing it as a matter of considerable public interest. The committee, she said, was informed of the withdrawal through a letter from the Auditor General to Parliament.
The special audit looks at the embassy’s affairs across a period of nine years. Its removal from the agenda means members will not question embassy officials on its findings during this round of hearings.
The Chairperson did not say what prompted the withdrawal beyond referring to the need for a corrected report, and she did not say when a new version might arrive.
African Games Report Also Stepped Down
The 13th All African Games report followed a similar route, though not the same one. Hon. Osei Asare said it was stepped down during the committee’s debriefing with the Auditor General. The committee will leave it aside until it is presented again.
The two reports are among the more closely watched audit documents in the current cycle. The Vaultz News reported earlier that the African Games audit uncovered GH¢208 million in liabilities despite GH¢2.24 billion in expenditure, and that the Auditor General demanded sweeping reforms over GH¢580 million in irregularities linked to the Games.
Both reports now sit outside the committee’s hearing schedule.
Accuracy as a Condition for Accountability
Hon. Osei Asare linked the decision to the standard the committee expects of itself and of others. “Accountability requires agency, but credibility requires accuracy, and we will insist on both,” she told the hearing.
That position means the committee is willing to hold back on high-profile reports rather than examine documents that may need correction. For a committee whose hearings are public and widely followed, a report that has to be amended mid-process could weaken the findings that come out of it.
The Chairperson also said the committee wants to keep its approach balanced, and that accountability must be tough but also fair.
What Happens When Reports Return
The withdrawal is not the end of the matter. Hon. Osei Asare said that when a corrected and duly authorised report is placed before Parliament and referred to the committee, it will be taken up. The committee will weigh it on its merits without fear or favour.
The process therefore has two steps. The Auditor General must present a corrected report to Parliament, and Parliament must refer it to the committee. Until both happen, the embassy audit and the African Games audit stay off the table.
The Washington embassy has featured in The Vaultz News coverage before. An earlier report covered a probe into corruption at the embassy, and a related story followed on the Ghana embassy in Washington. The special audit covering 2017 to 2025 was expected to add detail to that picture.
What Comes Next
The committee has moved on to the reports that are ready. Among them is the audit of ministries, departments and agencies, which records a reported financial irregularity of GH¢5.2 billion.
Attention now turns to the Auditor General’s office, which holds the next move on the embassy and African Games reports. How quickly corrected versions reach Parliament will decide how long the public waits for the committee to question the people involved.
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