The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has flagged officials from the Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation for providing unsatisfactory answers during a recent hearing.
The committee announced that key officials, including the Chief Director and Head of Finance, will be summoned to present all documents related to certain disputed payments.
The hearing, chaired by Abena Osei Asare, MP for Atiwa East, with Samuel Atta Mills, MP for Komenda as Ranking Member, allowed lawmakers to scrutinise the ministry’s operations in full view of the public.
The session followed the legislative process after the Auditor-General’s report was laid before Parliament and referred to the Committee for detailed examination.
Such hearings allow government entities to clarify their positions while enabling the committee to interrogate issues thoroughly.
The PAC emphasised its focus on ensuring value for every cedi authorised by Parliament in 2024 and boosting public confidence in Ghana’s financial management systems.
Officials present from the Ministry of Communications included Alfred Nortey, Director-General of Administration; Dr. Mark Oliver Kevor, Acting Deputy Director-General of NITA; and Mohammed Adams Sukparu, Deputy Minister for Communications and Digitalisation.
During the session, a member of the committee, Manhyia North MP Akwasi Konadu, asked about the non-payment of government-advised yearly advances.
He noted that the government of Ghana, through the ministry, entered into a contract with Lebara Ghana Limited, later transferred to Smart Afraco Limited, for the e-government infrastructure project operational since 2020.
The contract stipulated advance payments of $2 million in 2020 and $2 million annually from 2021 to 2024, amounting to a total of $6 million.
None of these payments has been made to date.
Dr. Mark Oliver Kevor responded, saying, “Straight to your answer, for now none or nothing has been covered. In terms of action we have taken since I took over in March 2025, we have written a letter, number NITA/SIL/25/04/15, on April 15, 2025, requesting all the arrears, including this year’s obligation so far.
“They responded, refuting this amount, and we referred the matter to the ministry. The ministry agrees with us and has referred the matter to the Attorney-General. Thank you.”
After a series of unsatisfactory responses, Ranking Member Samuel Atta Mills said, “Clerk, let’s flag this one. We will invite the Chief Director and Head of Finance to come and meet this Committee, and they need to bring all relevant documents from the time of the payments. So we will move on with this.”
Source: Myjoyonline
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