African Games: How Ghana paid GHS 10 million for anti-doping test instead of GHS 2 million

A forensic audit of the 13^th African Games held in Ghana in 2024 has revealed that the Ministry of Youth and Sports contracted anti-doping services at prices five times higher than internationally approved fees by accredited laboratories.

On 8th March 2024, just weeks before the 13th African Games opened in Accra, the Ministry of Youth and Sports signed a EUR 739,225.98 (GH¢ 10,349,163.72) contract with a company called Omni Specialty Product Limited, a subsidiary of the Omni Group, owned by Michael Zormelo. 

The purpose of Anti-doping tests ahead of international games is to ensure that athletes compete fairly and safely by checking whether they have used banned substances or methods to gain an unfair advantage.

Therefore, Ghana needed to meet its obligations under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) by testing athletes for banned substances.

The price gap

When auditors cross-checked Omni Specialty Product Limited’s unit prices against those of WADA-accredited laboratories at the Center for Preventive Doping Research and the German Sport University Cologne, the numbers were startling. They showed wide disparities. 

According to the report, long-term sample storage for 600 urine and blood samples is provided free of charge for the first six months by accredited laboratories. But Omni Specialty Product Limited, which the report said was mandated to engage an accredited WADA laboratory for the tests, charged Ghana €85 per sample, translating to €51,000 for a service that should have cost nothing.

Across all test categories, the audit calculated a total overcharge of EUR 572,040, equivalent to a little over GHS 8,008,560.

A fixed Price for a variable service

According to the Audit report, the entire contract was awarded at a fixed, predetermined lump sum, although the number of tests depended on how many athletes compete, in how many events, across how many days.

The auditors found that the contract did not clearly explain:

• Why were 600 long-term storage tests planned or how was that number determined?
•  How the amount paid would be checked against the actual number of tests carried out.
• Proof that the work was actually done, because there were no sample collection records, laboratory confirmations, or documents showing how the samples were handled and tracked.

Missing report

According to the audit report, under the Terms of Reference governing Omni Specialty Product Limited’s engagement, the contractor was required to submit a final report to the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) within 30 days of the conclusion of the Games. The report was to summarise the activities undertaken, the number and type of tests conducted, outcomes of the testing process, and any recommendations.

The auditors found no documentary evidence that the report was ever submitted, not within the deadline, and not at any time afterward. There is no record on file covering the scope of activities performed, the number and type of tests conducted, or the outcomes of the testing process.

 Management Response

When confronted with the overpricing findings, the Ministry of Sports and the Local Organizing Committee said the pricing reflected genuine operational complexity, market conditions, and a scope of work far broader than the auditors acknowledged.

On the question of the missing final report, the actual document that would confirm what tests were conducted and what the results were, the management response was: “The final report is available.”

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