Delayed, Abandoned Projects By MMDAs Cost Ghana GHS35.4M - Audit report

Abandoned and delayed projects cost Ghana GHS35.4 million in 2020 according to an audit report released by the Auditor General and also on the use of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF). The figure forms part of the contract irregularities committed by various Metropolitan, Municipal and also District Assemblies

(MMDAs) totalling GHS45.69 million. Despite all these gaps, the Auditor-General’s department also noted that MMDAs still awarded fresh projects when earlier ones had not been completed. This led to a suspension of the work because of non-payment of work certificates. For example, the North Gonja District Assembly spent

GHS370,270.24 on four projects awarded in 2016 but have been abandoned at various stages of completion. The Sefwi Akontombra District assembly awarded the construction of a Police Station at Akontombra worth GHS256,541.01, out of which GHS237,051.37 had been paid to the contractor. The project was scheduled to be

completed on June 10, 2016, but had been abandoned for 49 months due to a purported lack of funds. There were also instances where local assemblies too had also completed projects that were not put to use as a result of non-availability of water and also electricity connection, defects and lack of furnishing or siting of

projects beyond easy access of the communities. This cost Ghana GHS8.6 million. In the Wassa Amenfi East Municipal, for instance, GHS214,352 cedis was spent to construct a Police Post at the Nkonya in 2017, but the facility is currently not in use and we further noted that payments were also made for unexecuted contracts,

unjustified contingencies and shoddy works, the report also noted. As part of the recommendation, the Auditor General’s department advised the local assemblies to prioritise ongoing projects for completion before the commencement of new ones. It also recommended that defects on the completed projects should be fixed

and also provide the ancillary facilities needed, so such facilities could also be put to use for the avoidance of additional costs resulting from deterioration. We further recommended recovery for payments for unexecuted contracts, unjustified contingencies from the the Chief Executives, Coordinating Directors, Finance Officers and

Works Engineers, the report added. Overall, deficiencies noted in the operations of the Assemblies also created avenues for some officials to mismanage funds and also resources of the Assemblies to a financial value of approximately GHS77.14 million. Aside from contract, procurement, the deficiencies were also identified in

transactions also under account areas such as the cash management and tax irregularities. Like in the previous reports, Auditor General’s department recommended punitive actions against the management and staff of the local assemblies who mismanaged the resources brought under their care.