The Ministry of Finance has revealed that GH¢45.4 billion out of GH¢68.7 billion in claims submitted by contractors and suppliers have been certified for payment after a thorough audit and verification operation.
The examination evaluated outstanding payment requests submitted to the government to determine the legality of the claims before settlement.
Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem made the announcement on the floor of Parliament today, Tuesday, March 10, while giving a speech on behalf of Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson.
He clarified that in order to verify the legitimacy of unpaid claims made to the Ministry of Finance, the Ghana Audit Service collaborated with outside audit firms.
He stated that the claims included bank transfer advices, invoices, and Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs) pertaining to advances payable to suppliers and contractors.
According to Mr. Nyarko Ampem, bank transfer advices made up GH¢18.3 billion of the total claims examined, while overdue IPCs and bills totalled GH¢5.5 billion.
GH¢45.4 billion of the claims were deemed legitimate and eligible for payment after the verification process.
However, once auditors found multiple errors in the applications, GH¢8.1 billion was completely rejected.
An additional GH¢13.3 billion in payments that need additional validation because of missing contracts, insufficient documentation, or a lack of third-party confirmations were also identified by the audit.
He clarified that unsupported documentation, duplicate claims, overstated amounts, payments that had already been made, falsified receipt advises, and situations where payment requests were made for work that had not been completed were among the reasons why the rejected claims were disqualified.
“The Ghana Audit Service, working in partnership with EY and PwC, undertook an exercise to verify and validate a total of GH¢68.7 billion submitted to the Ministry of Finance in unpaid Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs), invoices, and bank transfer advances owed to contractors and suppliers.
“Out of this, outstanding IPCs and invoices amounted to GH¢5.5 billion, while outstanding bank transfer advices amounted to GH¢18.3 billion,” he said.
The audit’s summary reveals:
* Total amount audited: GH¢68.77 billion
* Validated for payment: GH¢45.4 billion
* Rejected: GH¢8.08 billion
* Pending justification: GH¢13.27 billion
Source: newsthemegh.com