Does the Auditor General have a good car deal? | Social

The Procurement Committee (PPA) has recommended that a report "Auditor General's General Hearing on an Illegal Purchase of Vehicles for the Audit Service" be forwarded to the Attorney General's Office for appropriate action. be taken.

This follows the PPA's investigation of the purchase of some 32 vehicles for the audit service without recourse to PPP regulation.

Investigations revealed that the purchase of vehicles had not been carried out in accordance with the law on public procurement.

Last September, Daily Guide learned that the audit department had used a portion of its budget allocations for 2017, as well as funds from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to the purchase of several vehicles.

The information indicated that the service had spent a whopping $ 7.6 million for the purchase of a number of vehicles for the audit service without going through the procurement processes. appropriate public authorities.

Although the purchase of the vehicles was done by the Procurement Officer, the expenses exceeded the threshold set by the Auditor General, his deputy, as well as by the Procurement Committee with the service entities. audit, in violation of the law.

The Service baderted that it had received simultaneous approval of the APP for the purchase of vehicles because the amounts involved exceeded the limits approved by the Auditor General and the Procurement Committee with Audit Services Entities.

In a statement issued by the Public Relations Unit of the Audit Service, the number of vehicles purchased was 32, or 6,870,511.65 GH.

However, the documents available to DAILY GUIDE clearly showed that the Audit Services Invitation Committee had piloted the approval of the funds for purchases.

The information collected also indicates that the Service has purchased vehicles with funds from USAID, bringing the amount involved to more than seven million Ghanaian Cedis.

APP investigations

The PPP then opened an investigation into the purchase of the vehicles.

Daily guide the APA found "infringements" of the methods used by the audit service for the purchase of vehicles.

According to the PPA report, there is no properly constituted tender in the committee audit service, this committee having not been set up in accordance with Annex 1B of Law 663, who institutes the service.

The PPA report also stated that all acquisitions approved by the audit service entity committee are declared "null and void" because the composition of the committee did not meet the requirements.

It is worth noting that APP surveys also revealed that with respect to vehicles purchased by the audit department, the contract had been awarded and the vehicles delivered before the service was done. audit writes to the Central Bidding Control Board for simultaneous approval, in violation of section 20 (4) of the Act. 663 as amended.

Although the purchase of vehicles was tainted with several offenses, the APP board ordered that the vehicle provider be paid to avoid a financial loss for the state.

"The Board further indicated that, to the extent that the state had obtained services and in order to avoid any financial loss to the State through the judicial debt, the Service of 39 Ghana audit had to take immediate action to pay the supplier after checking the outstanding debt, "the report said. .

The committee also deplored the conduct of the audit service, which violated the law on the protection of privacy, and recommended that the report be forwarded to the Attorney General's office for appropriate action to be taken.