The Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Mr. Benjamin Boakye, has called for a transparent forensic audit into public procurement processes in Ghana, emphasizing that the country does not need complicated procedures to uncover financial mismanagement.
Speaking on The KeyPoints with Alfred Ocansey on April 5, Mr. Boakye pointed out that the recurring issues of mismanagement and abuse of public resources stem from a lack of accountability and responsibility.
“This is just a symptom of the many kinds of mess ever happening,” he said.
“And the way you do that is to hold people accountable and let them be responsible for what they have been given and how they manage it,” he added.
His comments come in light of recent revelations and discussions surrounding financial misappropriations and the planned forensic audit by government agencies.
According to Mr. Boakye, the proposed forensic audit must be practical. “Let’s not even use big words to delay processing. Simply zoom in,” he said, stressing the need for clarity and efficiency in the auditing process.
He suggested that the audit begin with an analysis of procurement activities.
“There has been procurement, right? What was approved? What was procured?” he asked rhetorically. “Let’s do the basics—the processes that were used to procure.”
Mr. Boakye also raised concerns about inflated contract values and questioned whether due diligence was done in securing the best prices for procured items.
“Let’s check the values. How much are those things sold? If you simply just want to contract people to bring things to the spot, why do you not even get the company that is producing the item to actually do the FCI [Final Commercial Invoice] and get it cheaper?” he questioned.
For him, the issue is not just about procurement, but about systemic abuse and neglect of duty.
“Let’s do the basics and hold people accountable for how they have abused… you know, that’s our usual responsibility to manage our assets for us,” he said.
Mr. Boakye called on the Ministry of Finance and relevant state agencies to engage qualified procurement experts who can ensure that the audit is done professionally and thoroughly. “And I’m hoping that, you know, the Ministry will get procurement experts,” he added.
He reiterated that good governance is rooted in accountability and that meaningful reform must begin with exposing and rectifying the flaws in how public resources are managed.
