Deputy Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Richard Gyan-Mensah has responded to claim of an amount of GH¢3.217 billion paid by the Ministry in its claims and commitments, funds that had already been settled by the Ministry of Finance.
The duplicated payment was captured in the Auditor-General’s report amid heightened scrutiny following the recent rejection of several payables.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, Richard Gyan-Mensah told the Committee that the Ministry had already identified instances of duplicate payments before the official audit uncovered them.
He explained that an internal review team had flagged the duplications and taken steps to address the issue prior to the intervention of external auditors.
According to him, the Ministry had communic ated its findings to the Ministry of Finance
He noted, however, that officials at the Finance Ministry advised that the issues be handled in collaboration with an audit team that had been set up to examine the payments.
“The review committee that was set up actually identified the duplication, not only this. Even the other ones that were paid that were recaptured were all identified by the review team even before the Audit.
“So, when the Audit team came, already communique had been sent to the Finance Ministry and Chief Director then went there to had discussion with them but they told us that there is an audit team that has been set up so when they come, all the necessary corrections that we will have to do, we would have to do with them,” he stated.
The Deputy Minister acknowledged that some duplications had occurred but insisted that the Ministry acted promptly once the discrepancies were detected.
“Yes, we accept the fact that some duplications were made but we wouldn’t have allowed the Controller to go ahead and make payment for those ones because once we identified that they were duplication, we made a follow up,” he added.
However, the Chair of the Committee, Abena Osei-Asare criticised the Ministry, urging the Minister to consistently ensure there are check and balances to avert repeated payments and other financial irregularities.
“Per the Public Financial Management, we should do the needful. The explanation will not help because we have seen it before. Every time, duplication, it was an oversight, it was inadvertent and so if we do not address the issue from the bottom. You don’t need an external auditor to help you double check your work, consistently you have to do checks and balances in place so that these things do not occur,” she advised.
The ongoing probe by the PAC forms part of efforts to scrutinise financial transactions within the energy sector and ensure accountability in the management of public funds.
