• The amount was also spent on the hiring of vehicles
• This was revealed by a 2020 Auditor-General report
A 2020 report by the Auditor-General's Department has revealed that the National Food Buffer Stock Company has between May and September 2017 not been able to account for over GH¢480,000 which was spent on fuel, renting of vehicles, and per diems.
The report said, “we noted that a total amount of GH¢482,360.00 relating to hotel accommodation costs, per diem allowances, training costs, vehicle hiring & fuel costs for regional monitoring and evaluation, and COCOBOD warehouse inspection carried out between May and September 2017 were not adequately supported with third party supporting documents, such as receipts, signed sheets, etc. to account for them. [Some of] these expenses recorded were only supported with memos approved by the CEO.”
It further disclosed that an amount of GH¢70,000 which was spent for other items mentioned had no evidence of the NAFCO Chief Executive Officer, Hanan Abdul-Wahab’s approval and receipt of the per diems paid to staff.
“No activity reports and third-party documentation were available to support the expenses. One of the memos dated 18 September 2017 for an amount of GH¢70,000 in respect of fuel and vehicle hiring costs and per diem for NAFCO CEO, 2 officers, and a driver, had no evidence of the CEO’s approval and receipt of the per diems by the staff listed in the memo.”
The A-G report on the other hand cautioned that the above breaches could render the Buffer Stock Company “susceptible to misappropriation of funds and/or fraudulent reporting as a result of inadequate accountability for funds advanced for activities.” and therefore called for an investigation on the matter to avoid a reoccurrence.
“Third-party documentation should also be produced for services obtained from third-party vendors such as hotel accommodation, vehicle hiring, and fuel costs. Staff who also received per diem allowances should sign for the amounts received and account for actual days spent,” the report advised.
The National Food Buffer Stock Company