GH¢3.14bn NIA Claim Flagged for Validation

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Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu

A GH¢3,138,634,860.00 claim submitted for the registration of Ghanaians aged 15 years and above by the National Identification Authority (NIA) and Identity Management Systems II has been listed as a major item pending validation in the Auditor-General’s latest audit of government commitments and claims.

The Auditor-General’s publication prepared with inputs from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Ernst & Young (EY),and covering commitments as at 31st December, 2024 states that the NIA claim was priced in US dollars (US$1,222,171,258.00) and converted to cedis at a rate of GH¢15.55 (February 2025).

The file places the conversion and the resulting cedi claim squarely in the Ministry of the Interior section of outstanding items awaiting verification.

The multi-billion cedi entry is among several large claims and commitments across ministries that the Auditor-General has flagged for validation before any payment is authorised.

The report makes it clear that the exercise carried out from May to October 2025 engaged MDAs, contractors and suppliers to verify and validate the claims.

The Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, notes in the preface that the window for submitting justifications and supporting documentation will run until 7th November 2025, after which any arrears, commitments rejected or pending validation “shall be treated as permanently expunged from the list of Government arrears and commitment stock.”

Other sizeable claims and commitments featured in the audit include, but are not limited to:

  • Rayzone Group Ltd – Service provider claim under the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations: GH¢315,555,516.30 (claims pending validation) and a commitments entry for Rayzone of GH¢235,605,300.00 listed in the same ministry’s commitments.
  • MEI Energy Solutions (Meienrgy Company Ltd) – Independent Power Producer claim: GH¢184,473,409.00 (claims pending validation).
  • RONOR MOTORS – Release of funds for payment of forty (40) LED vans under the Office of Government Machinery retooling programme: GH¢78,740,512.10 (commitments pending validation).
  • MLNR – Accra-Adentan (State Housing site) — Claim by Agri Cattle – Lakeside Estate Ltd: GH¢96,073,510.00 (claims pending validation).
  • Hospital Infrastructure Group (HIG) – Lead consultant invoice for project management and coordination of government priority health infrastructure projects under Agenda 111: GH¢92,822,512.00 (listed under Agenda 111 claims pending validation).
  • MEI Energy, Cenpower and Tullow- Other IPP entries include GH¢36,406,112.00(CenpowerTwinCity Energy) and GH¢30,500,000.00 (Tullow) respectively, also listed as claims pending validation.
  • Zoomlion/Local government-related items – the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Decentralisation entries show large management and service agreements and contracts listed under commitments and pending validation, such as GH¢69,760,336.00 for the Redevelopment and Modernisation of the Kumasi Central Market (Phase 2) and sizeable tipping-fee and sanitation management arrangements with amounts recorded under commitments.

The Auditor-General’s report emphasises that the details presented are claims, bank transfer advices (BTAs) and commitments that are either rejected or pending justification. It also invites contractors, suppliers and implementing agencies to submit all relevant documentation through their MDAs to the Ghana Audit Service for final validation.

The appearance of the NIA claim alongside numerous other high-value entries underscores the breadth of the validation exercise, which spans energy, communication, local government, lands and health sectors. The Auditor-General’s notice makes the stakes clear: failure to justify claims within the prescribed window could see them permanently removed from the arrears register.

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and other oversight bodies are expected to follow up on the publication as ministries and contractors respond to the validation demand. For now, the NIA claim and a raft of multi-million cedi items remain in limbo as the audit process continues.

 

 

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