Gh¢1m scandal hits National Sports Authority

Out of the amount, a finance officer is expected to refund an unreceipted expenditure of Gh¢726,954.95.

Investigations have revealed that the pay officer whose name is yet to be made public has no receipt covering 54 payment vouchers.

Auditors are on the heels of management of the Sports Authority and the finance officer to provide receipts but to no avail.

In the absence of valid receipts to authenticate the payments, the Auditor General has recommended that the payment remains invalid “and the paying officer be surcharged with the amount involved.”

Also, auditors have uncovered that 49 payment vouchers amounting to Gh¢279,689.78 were not presented for audit.

“This could be ascribed to making payments before raising the necessary payment vouchers and the inability to properly preserve paid vouchers. As a result, we could not ascertain whether the payments were authorised and approved, goods were supplied or service rendered and whether transactions were properly classified and included in accounts,” the 2015 Auditor General’s report before Parliament said.

Management of the authority has been ordered to produce the “payment vouchers” or “consider the payments disallowed and the total amount refunded by the paying officers. Management accepted our recommendation,” the report added.

Loans

The audit also revealed that officers of the Authority who were granted loans and salary advances totalling Gh¢43,722.07 between 2008 and 2014 paid back only Gh¢5,213 leaving Gh¢38,498.35 in arrears as at December 31, 2014.

“Management responded that affected officers have been informed and some officers have started paying in cash. Management further explained that deduction of the advances would be deducted from any allowances due these affected officers,” the report, which is being scrutinised by the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament concluded.