• Our Impact
  • Whistleblower
  • Fact-Check Ghana
Donate
The Fourth Estate
  • Home
  • General News
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Environment
  • Human Rights
  • Opinions
FourthEstate FourthEstate
  • Our Impact
  • Whistleblower
  • Fact-Check Ghana
Search
  • Home
  • General News
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Environment
  • Human Rights
  • Opinions
© 2024 | The Fourth Estate
Fact-checks

John Kumah’s claim on total infractions in Auditor-General’s report false

By Evans Aziamor-Mensah Date: September 8, 2022
SHARE

The Deputy Minister of Finance, John Kumah, has suggested that the total irregularities recorded in the 2021 Auditor-General’s report have dropped.

Mr. Kumah said he was of the belief that much could be done to reduce the irregularities if reports on the recoveries made during the successive reports were published.

The deputy minister made this claim on his Facebook page while commenting on the latest report by the Auditor-General. The report cited the total financial irregularities as GHS 17 billion.

Fact-Check Ghana has verified the deputy minister’s claim and concludes that it is false.

Claim: “Despite the fact that the 2021 Auditor-General’s report shows that total irregularities have dropped significantly as compared to previous years. I believe that this figure can be taken down further if we report on recovery’s(sic)…Despite the numerous leakages and infractions that still exist, the progress made in reducing the total irregularities is worth mentioning.”

Verdict: False

Explanation: The deputy minister’s claim that the “2021 Auditor-General’s report shows that total irregularities have dropped significantly as compared to previous years” cannot be true because the amounts recorded over the years have rather gone up. And this did not happen only with the 2021 report.

In the last five years, the total amount of irregularities has increased. It was only in 2018 that the figure decreased significantly. It is not clear why the reduction from 2017 to 2018 was recorded, but the 2017 report was in respect of 2016, which was an election year. And election years are noted for profligate spending and high irregularities.

From 2018 onwards, the total amounts from the financial irregularities have increased. In the year John Kumah claimed the figure dropped significantly, there was actually a 38% rise.

Here is a tabular presentation of the total irregularities for the past 6 years.

Year Total Irregularity (GHS) Percentage change (%)
2016 718 m 142   (+)
2017 12 bn 1572 (+)
2018 3 bn 75     (-)
2019 5.5 bn 81.8  (+)
2020 12.8 bn 135   (+)
2021 17.4 bn 38    (+)

Key: – means percentage decrease from the previous year

        + means percentage increase from the previous year

Source: Auditor-General’s report

It is evident from the table above that the deputy minister’s claim of a reduction in total irregularities is false.

TAGGED:2021 Auditor-General ReportAuditor-GeneralFact checkJohn Kumah
Share This Article
Facebook Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Telegram Email
Leave a comment Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

LATEST STORIES

Lighthouse chapel lawyer can testify to my credibility—Manasseh tells court
Rotting legacy: Atta Mills Presidential Library abandoned amid turf war and bureaucracy
Common Fund snubs order to recover GH₵95m from Jospong subsidiary
The Fourth Estate’s response to University’s rejoinder on fake credentials story
Appeal for public support – The Fourth Estate journalism project

You Might Also Like

Uncover the stories that related to the post
bawumia_speaks
Fact-checks

#BawumiaSpeaks:These claims are false, misleading

Fact-checks

FACT-CHECK: Immigration Service, 5 airlines give verdict on Ghana Card e-passport

Fact-checks

Who built the Keta Sea Defence wall? NAPO’s false, misleading claims 

Fact-checks

FACT CHECKED: Ursula Owusu’s claim on UK digital tax rate completely false

The Fourth Estate

The Fourth Estate is a non-profit, public interest and accountability investigative journalism project of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA). Our aim is to promote independent and critical research-based journalism that holds those in power answerable to the people they govern.

Latest Stories

Lighthouse chapel lawyer can testify to my credibility—Manasseh tells court
Rotting legacy: Atta Mills Presidential Library abandoned amid turf war and bureaucracy
Common Fund snubs order to recover GH₵95m from Jospong subsidiary
The Fourth Estate’s response to University’s rejoinder on fake credentials story

Quick Links

  • About The Fourth Estate
  • MFWA.org
  • Fact Check Ghana
  • Privacy & Terms

© 2025 | The Fourth Estate – A Project of the Media Foundation of West Africa