Former KPMG chief executive officer Joseph Winful has warned that a number of contracts awarded for COVID‑19 fumigation exercises in Ghana may have amounted to an abuse of office. His remarks come as the Auditor‑General’s audit of pandemic spending and a journalist investigation by Manasseh Azure Awuni raise questions about how the contracts were awarded.
Mr Winful said the Auditor‑General’s work was largely a financial audit, but that it also touched on the rationale behind the fumigation contracts. "Maybe some didn’t make sense. Maybe some were blatant abuse of the office," he said, stressing that a financial audit and a forensic investigation have different scopes.
He noted that the cost of fumigating an open field is unclear without expert advice, and that decisions on scope and period should have been guided by public health specialists. "There must have been some advice from those responsible for this to actually advise on the scope and the period and what have you, and also to evaluate what was done, whether it is worth it," he added.
Mr Winful questioned whether Ghana’s emphasis on transparency, accountability and value for money is matched by the systems used to assess public spending. "Our politicians love using the words value for money, value for money. It rhymes nicely, value for money. But really, are we even targeting obtaining any value for our actions?" he asked.
He concluded that effective financial management is essential to Ghana’s development and democratic governance. "All this cannot be achieved if you do not have effective financial management. You end up with haircuts and saving cuts and what have you. We won’t get there," he said.
