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The Ministry of Finance has revealed that GH¢45.4 billion out of GH¢68.7 billion in contractor and supplier claims submitted to government has been validated for payment following a nationwide audit and verification exercise.
The review was conducted to determine the legitimacy of outstanding payment requests submitted by contractors and suppliers before government settles the claims.
Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem made the disclosure on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, March 10, while delivering a statement on behalf of the Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson.
According to him, the verification exercise was carried out by the Ghana Audit Service in collaboration with global audit firms Ernst & Young (EY) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
The audit assessed unpaid Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs), invoices and bank transfer advices submitted as claims by contractors and suppliers.
Mr Nyarko Ampem explained that outstanding IPCs and invoices amounted to GH¢5.5 billion, while bank transfer advices accounted for GH¢18.3 billion of the total claims reviewed.
Following the verification process, GH¢45.4 billion of the claims was validated as legitimate and approved for payment. However, GH¢8.1 billion was rejected after auditors identified several irregularities in the submissions.
The audit also revealed that an additional GH¢13.3 billion worth of claims requires further validation due to missing documentation, lack of third-party confirmation or the absence of supporting contracts.
According to the Deputy Minister, some claims were rejected due to unsupported documentation, duplication, overstated amounts, falsified receipts, previously settled payments and cases where requests were submitted for work that had not been carried out.
Summary of the audit findings:
• Total amount audited: GH¢68.77 billion
• Validated for payment: GH¢45.4 billion
• Rejected claims: GH¢8.08 billion
• Pending further validation: GH¢13.27 billion
