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The Auditor-General’s (AG) Report has made a startling revelation of how GH¢3.5 million was withdrawn on three different occasions from a sponsorship account of the National Sports Authority (NSA) in 2014.

The report also showed that the amount was invested and returned several months later without explanation.

The amount, which was withdrawn from a Donor Fund Account sponsored by AngloGold, yielded GH¢36,479.45 on the first two investments.

However, the dividends were “withdrawn immediately they were credited to the account without indicating how they were utilised”.

This was contained in the Auditor-General’s Report into the finances of public boards, corporations and other statutory organisations for the 2014 fiscal year.

The report, therefore, recommended that management of the NSA be made to account for the accrued interest and also follow up on the interest on the last investment.

It also advised management to desist from such illegitimate dealings.

Ghana’s leaking public purse was further depleted in 2014 by more than GH¢1.8 billion in monetary irregularities, according to the report.

Leaking coffers

Although a little lower than the more than GH¢2 billion recorded in 2012, the trend of financial malfeasance remained the same in 2014 and involved almost the same institutions.

Institutions under the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS) recorded GH¢4,136,742 in financial irregularities during the period under review — January 1 to December 31, 2014.

The report also stated that management of the NSA misapplied GH¢380,000 from a donation of GH¢3,090,380 from AngloGold Ashanti meant for the construction of multi-purpose courts and administrative expenses.

That aside, four contractors who were awarded contracts to construct the multi-purpose courts were paid GH¢78,241.11 in excess of the certified amount, the report said.

It was also discovered that GH¢20,000 was withdrawn from the NSA’s bank account but there was no payment voucher to support the withdrawal, while the purpose for which the amount was withdrawn was not indicated in the cash book.

Nine payment vouchers totalling GH¢79,149 were not made available for examination by the auditors.

“We recommend that management makes effort to submit the payment vouchers for our examination or the amount be recovered from the authorising and approving officers,” the report said.

Overpaid budget

It said on another occasion, a budget of GH¢75,364 submitted to the MoYS by the NSA for the organisation of the Maria Tsako National Junior Championship in Tamale from  March 15 to 18, 2012 was exceeded by GH¢25,160 without approval from the ministry, in contravention of Regulation 39 of the Financial Administration Act.

Similarly, an amount of GH¢67,636 granted to the chief accountant as imprest for various programmes was not accounted for, even after the completion of the programmes.

The report noted with concern the fact that the NSA did not maintain an assets register to control its numerous assets spread across the country.

Recommendations

To right the wrongs of the NSA, the report recommended that management of the authority “recover the excess amount from the contractors and pay it to the account and our office informed for verification”.

It also recommended that the NSA management submit particulars to justify the withdrawal or the amount recovered immediately and paid into the authority’s account.

On the accountable imprest, it recommended that the officer involved be made to account for the imprest or the sum adjusted to a personal advance account in his name as required by law.