We’ll go after road contractors who breach procurement processes – Auditor General
All road projects across the country including yet-to-be constructed ones under the newly launched Sinohydro deal will undergo a value for money audit.
This was announced by the Auditor General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo at a forum on disallowance and surcharge in Accra on Thursday.
His announcement comes just when the Minority in Parliament questioned the government on a value for money audit on the $2 billion Sinohydro infrastructure projects deal.
Mr. Domelevo explained that the move is to ensure procurement processes are followed by government agencies and contractors working on such projects.
“Now we are going on the roads. My people have been trained on how to do audit based on the construction of the roads and bridges. [This includes the Sinohydro roads]. Once they start construction, we may pick up a few of the roads. Value for money can be done at any point in time. I think the timing is very right…We have just gotten our equipment. This is good because it will help Ghanaians get value for money. I want to send an admonition to the contractors who will be doing the job. We don’t hate them, we like them to develop our country and not to take our money else we will go after them.”
We have a value for money report on Sinohydro deal – Oppong Nkrumah replies Minority
The Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, earlier described concerns from the Minority over the lack of a value for money audit for the $2 billion Sinohydro deal as disingenuous.
“Value for money is not a prerequisite for parliamentary approval,” the Minister countered.
“What Parliament considers are the financial terms and the technical specifications which were also made available to the sector-specific committee,” said Mr. Oppong Nkrumah.
The Minister also said, “there is a value for money report as we speak.”
He said in response to the claims by the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Road and Transport Committee, Kwami Agbodza who accused the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia of blocking audit of the Sinohydro deal.
The SinoHydro Deal
President Nana Akufo-Addo has launched the $2 billion SinoHydro Master Project Support Agreement and also cut the sod for the construction of the Tamale Interchange.
According to President Akufo-Addo, Ghana, through a barter arrangement, will have US$2 billion worth of priority infrastructure projects across the country, in exchange for the delivery of Ghanaian manufactured aluminium products to Sinohydro.
The barter arrangement has necessitated the establishment of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation, a statutory public corporation, to oversee the development of a full value chain of the country’s bauxite resources.
This, the President explained, is to guarantee that Ghana has a vibrant aluminium industry, “and ensure that we live up to our end of the barter transaction. This innovative arrangement, the first of its kind on the continent, is not going to add to our country’s total debt stock.”
Each of the 16 regions will benefit from the Sinohydro arrangement.
Hospitals, roads, bridges are some of the facilities to be built under the agreement.
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Source: citinewsroom