Auditor-General erred in law – Senior Minister declares as he heads to court

Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo has announced that he has sued the Auditor-General over a surcharge and disallowance imposed on him by the Auditor-General, affirming that the evidence available to him (Osafo-Maafo) “shows clearly that the Auditor-General erred in law and professional procedures in the exercise of his powers regarding his audit on payments to Kroll and Associates Limited.”

In the statement signed by Osafo-Maafo announcing the lawsuit, he added that the legal action is being taken on his behalf and on the behalf of four other officials of the Ministry of Finance, adding that he was hopeful that he and the others will clear their names through the suit.

The Auditor-General imposed a surcharge of $1 million on Yaw Osafo-Maafo overpayments made to Kroll and Associates for, even though, the Auditor General concludes, there is no evidence of work done.

But Mr Osafo-Maafo has maintained that the court action will afford him the opportunity to prove that the transaction with Kroll and Associates, for which the one million dollars was paid, is regular or legal

You’ll ‘vomit’ Kroll cash by hook or crook – Domelovo dares Osafo Maafo

Last month the Public-spirited Auditor-General of the Republic of Ghana Mr. Daniel Domelevo has warned Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Maafo not to make any attempt to refuse to pay back the $1 million Kroll Associates ‘dubious’ deal.

Mr. Domelevo said the only grounds upon which Mr. Osafo-Maafo’s can say he will not pay back the money is if he goes to court to get a judgment.

According to the Auditor, the Senior Minister’s reply to his queries over the government contract with Kroll Associates UK to provide consultancy services was not sufficient or convincing.

He revealed that Kroll Associates was illegally chosen through a single-source procurement process.

Kroll Associates, UK Ltd was contracted in 2017 to “review electronic evidence, identify assets abroad and manage a joint Civil and Criminal Assets recovery process” and there is no evidence of the work done.

By September 2018, over $1 million equivalent to ¢ 5.6 million was made to the company as full payment for its services when work was not done. When queried, the Auditor General said Osafo-Maafo gave him “assurance” but not “evidence” but the Audit Service deals with evidence, not assurances.

“We want evidence of work being done” not “assurances”, the Auditor-General insisted.

The letter from the Senior Minister indicated some examples of asset-tracing work done and also refused to reveal others, explaining they are “classified security matters.”