The Auditor-General has directed that more than GHC 579 million be recovered from three former top officials involved in Ghana’s organisation of the 13th Africa Games, following a forensic audit that uncovered widespread financial irregularities.
The audit, commissioned by President Mahama last year, identified issues such as inflated contract prices, unsupported payments, undelivered goods, and questionable expenditures across multiple areas of the Games’ budget.
Although no criminal charges were recommended, the report calls for former Minister of Youth and Sports Mustapha Ussif, former Chief Director William Kartey, and former Local Organising Committee (LOC) Chairman Dr. Kwaku Ofosu-Asare to refund the identified amounts to the state.
The Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Prof. Amin Alhassan, was also mentioned in relation to a separate training-related contract.
Overall, auditors recommend recovery of about GHC 579,114,352.24, along with $44,354,881.77 and €629,070, citing irregular payments linked to catering, accommodation, transport, procurement, infrastructure works, and administrative expenses.
The report indicates that nearly every major cost category of the Games contained questionable transactions, with the three main officials repeatedly associated with the flagged expenditures.
Key findings include alleged overpricing in catering contracts worth millions of cedis, inflated accommodation costs where hotel rates were significantly above market value, and overpriced anti-doping services compared to international benchmarks.
Sports equipment contracts were also flagged for excess charges and undelivered items, while transport and logistics expenses showed multiple layers of over-invoicing and inflated rental costs.
Additionally, auditors identified GHC 15 million in LOC payments unrelated to the Games, as well as infrastructure defects estimated at around GHC 12 million requiring repairs.
The most substantial concerns were linked to major engineering and construction contracts for venues such as the Borteyman Sports Complex, the University of Ghana Stadium, and the Legon Sports Village, where auditors cited unjustified variations and inflated claims totaling nearly $39 million and over GHC 467 million.
Other single-source infrastructure contracts were also found to be overpriced due to weak or missing price verification processes.
In total, the audit paints a picture of extensive financial discrepancies across the Games’ organisation, prompting the recommendation for large-scale recovery of public funds.
Source: joynews
