Ghana @50 responds to Auditor-General's report
Abdul Salam Sule, Ghanadot
Accra, Feb 27, Ghanadot - The Ghana@50 Secretariat has formally responded to the queries raised by the
Auditor-General, Mr. Edward Dua-Agyeman, in an interim report on the account of
the secretariat during the anniversary celebration.
The Auditor-General put the total expenditure of the secretariat at GH¢60million
which is GH¢40million more than the GH¢20million approved by Parliament in 2007
for the celebration of the country’s 50th birthday.
The report also said the secretariat has some GH¢18 million to pay to
contractors.
The revelation was greeted with angry reactions from the opposition New
Patriotic Party (NPP) who faulted the Auditor-General for making public the
details of an interim report which did not carry the input of the audited.
Following the release of the document, however, former Chief of Staff Kwadwo
Mpiani, who chaired the Planning Committee of the secretariat, was given 30 days
to respond to the queries raised in the report.
The 30-day ultimatum ends today February 26, 2009 but Mr Mpiani has told
reporters in Accra that the secretariat has responded to the request of the
Auditor-General.
Although he would not disclose the details of the responses, the former Chief of
Staff said the secretariat presented all relevant information required by the
Auditor-General.
Mr Mpiani in an earlier interview expressed his disappointment at the
Auditor-General who he said had in a letter requested him to respond to the
queries in the audit report and he (Mr Dua-Agyeman) went ahead to present it to
the government transition team, and sought to malign the past government.
Media reports suggested the Ghana@50 Secretariat had no internal audit mechanism
while its accounting staff was bereft of modern accounting skills.
The Auditor-General is however yet to comment on the response delivered by Mr
Mpiani.
Ghanadot
