Auditor-General’s own audit objective raises questions over omission of Local Gov’t spending – Manasseh Awuni

Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has raised questions over why the Auditor-General's COVID-19 expenditure audit omitted the Ministry of Local Government's fumigation spending. Mr Awuni contacted the Audit Service to verify whether the ministry's expenditure had been audited, and they confirmed that it had, including fumigation spending.

The Auditor-General's report stated a figure of GH¢96.3 million for fumigation, but Mr Awuni's investigation found that the ministry actually spent GH¢299 million on market fumigation between April and November 2020. The Audit Service provided an appendix listing all audited ministries, confirming that the Local Government Ministry was included.

However, Mr Awuni questioned why the ministry's fumigation expenditure was not reported in the final audit report, given the Auditor-General's objective to provide a fair representation of COVID-19 receipts and expenditure. He emphasized that the audit objectives included determining whether financial records fairly represented what was taken and spent, not just identifying wrongdoing.