AGs report on Covid-19: Government spent $81m for vaccinations that were never delivered

According to the Auditor General, the government has spent $80 million for vaccinations that have not yet been delivered.

The Auditor General claims that although the government spent over $120 million on vaccinations, only $38 million worth of them really arrived at UNICEF and the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT).

The Chief Director of the Health Ministry has thus been advised by the Auditor General to renegotiate and pay the unpaid sum.

The Auditor General claims that this needs to be done right now in order to guarantee that the state gets its money back.

“We noted that the Ministry of Health on behalf of the government of Ghana paid an amount of $120,192,379.80 to UNICEF/AVAT for the supply of vaccines.

“However, 5,109,600.00 doses of vaccines valued at $38,322,000.00 were supplied to the National Cold Room leaving a difference of US$81,870,379.00 with UNICEF/AVAT.”

In order to recoup the unpaid sum, he added, “We urge that the Chief Director of the Ministry of Health should renegotiate with UNICEF/AVAT.”

According to the report, just 25% (or $5.5) of the roughly US$2.5 billion (or 21 billion) raised for the battle against Covid-19 was spent on health.

The Auditor General also stated that the remaining funds were used for government initiatives like LEAP and Free SHS, among others.

A report on government spending during the COVID-19 epidemic spanning the period from March 2020 to June 2022 was published by the Auditor-General.

According to Section 16 of the Audit Service Act, 2000 (Act 584) for submission to Parliament, the special audit report has been created.

It included information on the numerous expenditures that Ministries, Departments, and Agencies made during the time period in question.

The Ministry of Finance mobilized a total of GH19,112,318,205.12 in 2020 to lessen the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to documents on COVID-19 funding at the Ministry of Finance, Controller and Accountant-General, and Ministry of Health, the report noted.

According to the data, GH 1,978,551,137.46 and GH 753,319,842.66 (up to June 2022) were raised to fund the Ghana COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan and the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme, respectively.

A total of GH21,844,189,185.24 was raised to help Ghana lessen the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com