SEND Ghana, a non-governmental Organization (NGO), has appealed to the Auditor-General to surcharge and prosecute all persons and entities found culpable in the misappropriation of COVID-19 Funds.

According to SEND Ghana, the courts must also be proactive and not delay in the prosecution of those found culpable in the misappropriation of funds.

Contained in press release issued by SEND Ghana and signed by the Deputy Country Director, Dr. Emmanuel Ayifah, it indicated that “heads must roll”.

“The courts must also be proactive and not overly delay in the prosecution of those found culpable as has been the case in most ‘grand corruption’ cases involving public officials.”
SEND Ghana

The non-governmental organization stated that it has observed with keen interest regular media reportage on the Auditor-General’s report regarding the misappropriation of funds mobilized by the Government of Ghana to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

It highlighted that multiple reports suggest that a substantial part of the COVID-19 funds has been grossly misapplied and channeled to fund other government interventions and flagship programmes.

“It is sad to note that out of nearly GHS22 billion that was raised to fight the pandemic between March 2020 to June 2022, just a little over half, that is, GHS12 billion, was used to fight the pandemic and its related impact.”
SEND Ghana

SEND Ghana noted that the misapplication and mismanagement of the funds directly contravened the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), which was instituted to regulate public sector spending.

Nonetheless, the release commended the Auditor-General for heeding to SEND Ghana’s call for a special audit to be conducted into the manner in which the COVID-19 Funds were used and being bold and decisive.

“Whiles commending the Auditor-General for revealing the rot in the COVID-1 9 expenditures, we wish to emphasize that this should not be just another audit report.”
SEND Ghana

Meanwhile, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has expressed its disappointment in the report by the Auditor General. It noted that the Auditor-General’s report reveals that, by the kind courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghana benefitted immensely from unprecedented inflow of funds from various sources, such as the World Bank, the International Monitory Fund, the Africa Development Bank, the European Union, the Contingency Fund and the sale of BOG-COVID-19 Bonds among others.

Misappropriation of COVID-19 funds

These funds, the NDC explained, the report estimates to amount to a total of GHS 21,844,189,185.24.

It recalled how the government of Ghana, led by the Health Minister, Kweku Agyemang Menu, chose to pay $19 per dose of Sputnik V vaccine through a “phony middleman” called Sheik Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum of the UAE, when Ghana could have easily bought these vaccines directly from the Russian government at a unit cost of $10 or less.

In a statement, it expressed concern that despite the dire economic crises confronting the nation, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has neglected and/or failed to retrieve an outstanding amount of $81.8 million, which could have been channeled into other developmental ventures to ameliorate the plight of suffering Ghanaians.

The NDC emphasized that it is very clear that while COVID-19 may have been a national health disaster for Ghana, it was a “bonanza and an avenue” for officials of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government and the New Patriotic Party to engage in the “most obscene plundering” of state resources never seen before in Ghana’s history.

Prior to this, Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr Clement Apaak, revealed that President Akufo-Addo’s silence following the current COVID-19 expenditure and audit report issued by the Auditor-General is worrying. He stated that the President’s lack of comment on the report makes it evident that Akufo-Addo’s anti-corruption advocacy was a façade.

Dr Apaak stated that President Akufo-Addo’s inaction gives the impression that he is not interested in fighting corruption as he had claimed.