3 Million condoms missing — Auditor-General after delivery man

The Auditor-General is pursuing a driver who failed to deliver about three million pieces of male condoms and other contraceptives valued at GH¢1.34 million to the Regional Medical Stores (RMS) in the Eastern Region.

The driver, Joe Gyaten, was tasked to deliver the contraceptives, including 120,000 vials of Depo-Provera (birth control shot), to the Regional Medical Stores on August 22, 2022, but the entire consignment was never received at the stipulated destination.

Mr Gyaten has also not been able to account for the items until today, prompting the Auditor-General’s inquest and efforts to recover the funds in accordance with Section 96 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921).

Section 96 of the Act stipulates that a person, connected with the procurement or control of government stores, who is responsible for any deficiency in or for the loss, damage or destruction of any stores or any other government property, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a term of imprisonment or a fine.

Report on MDAs

This was captured in the latest Auditor-General’s Report on the public accounts of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), which uncovered more than GH¢2.41 billion financial irregularities in 2023.

The irregularities were mainly in the form of cash, tax, payroll, debts and loans, stores and procurement, contracts and rent.

Stores and procurement irregularities discovered during the period amounted to GH¢2.06 million. It included the GH¢1.34 million irregularities relating to unaccounted store items.

Tax irregularities formed 89.6 per cent (GH¢2.16 billion) of the total financial infractions reported. The total cash irregularities detected during the period under review amounted to GH¢88.41 million, which represented 3.7 per cent of the total irregularities.

Details

The Auditor-General discovered this during an audit. The irregularities were detected through the Temporary Central Medical Stores Requisition and Issue Voucher No. MOH/GHS 308088, dated August 22, 2022.

The report stated that a follow-up investigation at the Regional Medical Stores showed that Mr Gyaten failed to deliver the contraceptives to the storage facility.

As a result, the items remained unaccounted for, and their whereabouts remained unknown.

This discovery suggested a potential case of misappropriation or mismanagement of public resources, warranting further investigation and action.

AG’s recommendation

The Auditor-General, therefore, directed the Chief Director of the Ministry of Health (MOH) to ensure that the Head of the Temporary Central Medical Stores recovered the amount of GH¢1.34 million from the delivery officer.

The report also recommended that the recovered funds should be paid into the Auditor-General’s Recoveries Account at the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

It said failure to comply would result in the Chief Director and the Head of the Temporary Central Medical Stores being held personally liable for the debt.

“The officials will be responsible for paying the amount if Mr Gyaten fails to refund the money,” the report added.

MoH’s position

According to the report, the MOH responded that it had referred the matter to the Health Intelligence Unit for further investigation.

The Health Intelligence Unit is working closely with the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service to investigate the issue.