An audit report of the financial management of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has exposed excess expenditure from its share of the District Assembly Common (DACF) and the Internally Generated Fund (IGF).
The audit, which covers the period between January and December 2023, pointed to misappropriation of the District Assembly Common Fund and Internally Generated Fund.
The report found out that the KMA spent a total of GHc557,000 instead of GHc165,916.56 being the permissible 5% of GHc3, 318,331.24 share of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) on social services, resulting in an excess expenditure of GHc391,083.44.
The KMA is, therefore, to refund the excess from the Internally Generated Fund to the DACF account.
The KMA will also have to remit a further total of GHc165,916.56 to the Department of Agriculture to support the modernisation of agriculture in the Metropolis. The report disclosed that management misapplied GHc92,787.90 from DACF for developmental activities within the Metropolis for payments for the 66th independent celebrations.
The auditors also detected that the KMA failed to allocate the required amount of GHc265,466.50 for local governance and recommended that the KMA remit the amount to the respective sub-structures without delay.
Another GHc828,946.87 was spent for the construction of a 6-unit classroom block and maintenance of residential and office buildings over and above the GHc450,000 budgeted expenditure, thus incurring an overrun of GHc378,946.87.
A review of the financial records by the auditors revealed that 6 payment vouchers raised for GHc177,393.13 were not presented for audit scrutiny.
The auditors also made significant findings on KMA’s IGF and disclosed that about 139 institutions were found to owe the KMA GHc152,850.00 being uncollected revenue from licensing fees and business operation permits.
The audit report noted that the Assembly awarded various contracts for the construction of classroom blocks, septic tanks, rehabilitation of classrooms and construction of a 2-storey administration block at GHc1,155,005.29.
It noted that even though all the projects had been completed, the Assembly had only paid GHc300,000 to the contractors leaving an outstanding debt of GHc855,005.29 to be cleared in respect of the construction of a 3-Unit classroom block at Abrepo by Forac Ltd and the construction of 2-storey Administration Block at Bantama by Jaboram Constructions. A total of GHc54,752.62 being withholding tax by the Assembly from payments of services providers was not remitted to the Ghana Revenue Authority.
The Metro Coordinating Director and the Metro Finance Officer are to be held liable to pay any penalty for non remittance to the GRA, the report recommended.The auditors have warned the Assembly to desist from violating the guidelines on the utilization of the DACF.
The two reports, compiled by Mr. Emmanuel Appiah, the District Auditor of the Audit Service, mentioned the personnel constituting the management of KMA as Hon. Samuel Pyne (MCE), Francis Dwira Darko, (Metro Coordinating Director), David Abbam Adjei (Metro Finance Officer), Isaac Appiah Nsiah (Metro Chief Budget Analyst), Michael Agyemang (Metro Planning Officer), Mohammed Koliwura Alhassan (Metro Internal officer), Charles Adjei (Metro Planning officer) and Eugene Adjei-Koranteng (Head of Revenue).
The KMA management has, in response to the audit findings, admitted the financial mismanagement and declared to rectify the issues raised as per the Audit Service’s recommendations.It is, however, not known whether the management of the Assembly has complied with the recommendations by the audit report issued in March this year.
