The Auditor General has ordered the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), to refund 1.7 million Ghana Cedis illegally paid to staff as clothing, fuel and maintenance allowances from its Internally Generated Funds, IGF, without approval from the Ministry of Finance and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission.
The Auditor General gave management of FDA 30 days to refund the money and inform the Auditor General for verification. If it fails to do so, the officers involved will be surcharged.
The directive is contained in the 2018 Auditor General’s report on Public Boards, Corporations and other Statutory Institutions.
The Auditor General indicted FDA for increasing the construction sum of its Tema Office complex by 14.4 million Ghana Cedis without recourse to the Ministerial Tender Board.
It increased the original contract sum of 25.29 million to 39 million contrary to section 38 of the agreement and section 17 of the Public Procurement Act 2003.
The Auditor General therefore recommended to management to seek a retrospective approval of the variation of the contract and submit the document for verification.
