IAA, EOCO to prosecute three state institutions for misuse of COVID funds

Osae says there will be criminal consequences for misuse of COVID-19 funds

IAA begun audit of COVID-19 expenditure in 2021 – Osae



Read full article/> Govt running from accountability on COVID-19 expense - MP

The Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), Dr Eric Oduro Osae, has disclosed that the IAA will be collaborating with EOCO to prosecute three government agencies that misuse funds designated for Ghana's COVID-19 efforts.

He said that the IAA has since 2021 been receiving internal audit reports of state institutions on their expenditure geared towards curbing the impact of the pandemic on Ghanaians, and these reports showed several infractions, myjoyonline.com reported.

Dr Oduro Osae stated that all persons found to have embezzled Ghana's COVID-19 funds will be duly prosecuted.

"We started reviewing them in 2021, and some of the expenditure areas were revealing. Areas where we have challenges, we do a follow-up. A team is sent to the field to go and validate.

"Those we think have criminal consequences, we would work with EOCO (Economic and Organised Crime Office) to prosecute them. I'm not allowed to indicate what we are doing or the level of prosecution, but I can assure you that at the moment, we are working with EOCO to prosecute three institutions," Osae is quoted to have said at the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition public forum on the accountability gap in Covid-19 responses of Ghana.

Meanwhile, North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has indicated that even though parliament approved GH¢1 billion for Ghana's COVID-19 efforts, the government spent over GH¢8 billion.

According to him, the government was doing all it could to avoid accountability for Ghana's COVID-19 expenditure with its refusal to set up a committee to probe the expenditure.

He even said that the Auditor-General's office has not responded to the minority caucus' request for a special inquiry into the government COVID-19 expenditure.

"The UN has said that what COVID-19 has also brought on us is violations of human rights and corruption – there has not been transparency with government contracts. Why is it that in Ghana, some people want to run away with from a full-blown inquiry?" the MP questioned.