The Auditor-General, Mr Daniel Domelevo, has been accused of procurement breaches in the purchase of some Toyota vehicles for the Audit Service.

Pressure group Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) said on Thursday, 5 September 2019 that it has sufficient evidence from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) which indicts Mr Domelevo.

The group alleged that Mr Domelevo set up an Entity Tender Committee which superintended the purchase of the Toyota vehicles that cost GHS6 million.

At a press conference, the Vice-President of AFAG, Mr Henry Asante called on Attorney General Gloria Akuffo to, within one-week, launch an investigation into the alleged breaches or face their anger.

Mr Asante said: “The PPA faulted and held an unlawful contract by the Ghana Audit Service for the purchase of Toyota vehicles at an estimated contract of GHS6,183, 559.20. This is because the PPA determined that the evaluation panel, which carried out the procurement activity by the Audit Service, did not have the competence or capacity to discharge the exercise”.

The evaluation panel, Mr Asante said, “also failed to use the predetermined evaluation criteria published in the invitation to tender and the tender document as required under Section 20E (2) of Act 663”.

The contract, the group alleged, “was also awarded and the goods delivered before the Audit Service ruled the Central Tender Review Committee from concurring approval contrary to Section 204 of Act 663 as amended”. 

“All we are saying is like putting the horse before the cart”, he told the media.

Furthermore, AFAG said it has learnt that the Auditor-General has approached the PPA with the view of obtaining ratification of those breaches.

“The board of the PPA flatly refused this in view of the severity of the breaches. They find it very severe hence their refusal”.

AFAG quoted a portion of the PPA Board’s response dated 3 January 2019 as follows: ‘The Board’s attention was drawn that the Ghana Audit Service has written to request ratification in accordance with Section 90 (3)(C) of the Public Procurement Act 2013, Act 663, as amended by the Public Procurement Amendment Act 2016, Act 194’.

“This request was duly discussed and rejected by the Board. The Board deplored the conduct of the Ghana Audit Service in breach of the Public Procurement Law and recommended referral of the report to the attorney general’s department for appropriate action to be taken. These are dated and documented. So, we find it extremely unacceptable that till date, nothing has been done about these things and we are hoping that by the close of today, an investigation to that effect will be set up”.

Resolution

1.     AFAG is calling on the PPA to make the report public if there is nothing to hide;

2.     We challenge the Attorney General to, within one-week, commence an investigation into the procurement breaches of the Auditor-General’s office.

3.     In the coming days, AFAG will not hesitate to present a petition to the President concerning these breaches and failure of the Attorney General to faithfully execute its duties.