Finance Ministry approves GH¢45.4bn contractor claims, rejects GH¢8.1bn after audit

The Ministry of Finance has revealed that GH¢45.4 billion of the GH¢68.7 billion in claims submitted by contractors and suppliers has been confirmed as valid following a detailed audit and verification process.

The review aimed to examine outstanding payment requests presented to the government and determine which claims were legitimate before any payments are made.

Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, March 10, Thomas Nyarko Ampem delivered the statement on behalf of the Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson.

He explained that the validation exercise was conducted by the Ghana Audit Service in collaboration with external audit firms to verify the authenticity of unpaid claims submitted to the Finance Ministry.

According to him, the claims consisted of Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs), invoices, and bank transfer advice documents relating to advance payments owed to contractors and suppliers.

Mr. Nyarko Ampem stated that outstanding IPCs and invoices accounted for GH¢5.5 billion of the claims, while bank transfer advices represented GH¢18.3 billion of the total amount reviewed.

After the audit process, GH¢45.4 billion of the claims was confirmed as legitimate and approved for payment. However, GH¢8.1 billion worth of claims was rejected after auditors identified multiple irregularities in the documentation submitted.

The review also identified GH¢13.3 billion in claims that still require additional verification because of missing documentation, absence of third-party confirmations, or incomplete contractual records.

The Deputy Finance Minister explained that the rejected claims were disqualified due to several issues, including lack of supporting documents, duplicate submissions, exaggerated payment amounts, evidence that some payments had already been made, falsified receipt confirmations, and claims filed for projects that had not been executed.

The audit exercise was carried out by the Ghana Audit Service in partnership with Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Audit Summary:

Total claims reviewed: GH¢68.77 billion

Approved for payment: GH¢45.4 billion

Rejected claims: GH¢8.08 billion

Claims pending further verification: GH¢13.27 billion