The Auditor-General in its recent report has revealed that an amount of GH¢13,726,079.86 was paid by QHC Project Ltd to the Ministry of Health without recourse to the Minister of Finance and financial assessment by the Debt Management Unit after entering a lease agreement.

The Ministry of Health entered into a 25-year Finance Lease Agreement with QHC Project Limited at a total lease value of GH¢15,265,000.00 in April 2020.

According to the report, the underlying assets were uncompleted buildings in Adaklu in the Volta Region which were managed by QHC Project Ltd.

The buildings were to be used as an isolation centre during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the Auditor-General found out that the Ministry could not use the facility for the intended purpose and is, therefore, remodelling the building at an additional cost of GH¢20,382,247.70 out of which GH¢13,726,079.86 had been paid.

After a review of the finance lease process, the Auditor-General discovered that “the lease amount was paid to the lessor without recourse to the Minister of Finance and financial assessment by the Debt Management Unit.”

“During our visit to the facility in November 2022, we observed that the remodelling being undertaken by ADB Ghana Ltd. (contractor) had not been completed and the works include remodelling and equipping the existing buildings to be used as holding, treatment and isolation centres,” the report added.

During investigation, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Health is said to have attributed the leasing of uncompleted buildings to the emergency circumstance of the COVID-19 pandemic which necessitated the critical need to open up an Isolation Centre along the Eastern border of the Country to receive patients when the pandemic struck and when positive cases were rising.

For failing to meet the objective of the lease, the Auditor-General has directed the Chief Director of the Ministry of Health should refer the agreement to the Minister of Finance to have the Debt

Management Unit carry out financial assessment, including the option of purchasing the facility outright at a reasonable price and thereafter, secure retroactive approval from the Minister of Finance.

“We also recommended that the Chief Director should negotiate for the unexpired portion of the lease amount to be deducted from the purchase price when outright purchase is considered. We further recommended an investigation into the choice of an uncompleted building during the peak of the pandemic to hold isolated patients,” the report also noted.

Meanwhile, Management has responded that a team from the Ministry of Finance undertook on-site monitoring of the project and added that as recommended, the process for outright purchase is ongoing and that negotiations have been concluded and awaiting the Ministry of Finance & Attorney-Generals’ review and advice.

Source: The Independent Ghana