I have always said that the Auditor’s General Report must always incorporate findings and recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament in its report and further update total recoveries made and the status of implementation of its previous years’ audit recommendations.
Despite the fact that the 2021 Auditor General’s report shows that total irregularities have dropped significantly as compared to previous years. I believe that this figure can be taken down further if we report on recoveries.
I wish to indicate in the spirit of public education that; for all the financial infractions indicated in the Auditor General’s reports which represent real money that can be recovered, steps have been taken by the Ghana Revenue Authority over the period and continuous efforts are being made to recover such amounts. For instance, tax irregularities have declined from GHS 4,788,284,799 in 2018 to GHS 989,026,225 in 2022. Also, some of the infractions reported are administrative and procedural in nature that do not indicate a loss of money to be recovered. This usually happens in some cases on the account of inadequate engagement with the auditors during the audit fieldwork to explain some key issues or in some cases the non-provision of some key audit evidence required by the auditors during the audit.
Despite the numerous leakages and infractions that still exist, the progress made in reducing the total irregularities is worth mentioning. Government will continue to enforce and enhance all the ongoing expenditure management and accountability measures to ensure proper utilization of all public resources to the full benefit of citizens.