The Auditor-General has uncovered financial breaches at the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) amounting to GHS12.9 million.

The breaches, revealed in the Auditor-General’s 2025 report, included the payment of advance mobilization for contracts that had not been executed, and the award of a contract whose value exceeded the Common Fund Administrator’s approving threshold.

The report indicates that the Administrator paid a total of GHS10.7 million as advance mobilization for 13 contracts across various districts. However, the projects have been delayed for periods ranging from 13 to 60 months.

“We also noted that the contracts and advance mobilisation securities had expired,” the report states.

According to the Auditor-General, the payment breached section 7 of the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act.

The Auditor-General condemned the payment and said it undermined value for money, as funds paid as advance mobilisation remained unutilized for extended periods without corresponding project execution.

“The non-commencement of works, coupled with expired contracts and advance mobilisation securities, exposes the funds to the risk of non-recovery and potential loss,” the report said. “It also delays delivery of the intended infrastructure and services to beneficiaries.”

Though the report did not indicate why the payment was made before the execution of works, the Auditor-General recommended that the Common Fund Administrator should assess the status of the implementation of the contracts and ensure recovery of funds where projects could not be implemented.

In another instance, the Administrator is said to have breached the Public Procurement Act by awarding a contract valued at over GHS2.2 million to Lampas Company Limited, when the law provides the thresholds for approving authorities for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) up to just GHS100,000. Above this threshold, the law requires referral to the Central Tender Review Committee for approval.

“In contravention of the applicable procurement requirements, the contract was neither referred to nor reviewed and approved by the Central Tender Review Committee prior to award,” the report states

The report further indicates the contract was for the provision of digital data services to support evidence-based decision-making and covered software setup for capturing data on DACF-funded projects, training and briefing of Lampas staff for data collection, and data collection and field deployment costs.

The report says out of the contract sum, GHS1.3 million had already been paid.

It condemns the breach and states that “non-compliance with procurement law undermines transparency, fairness, and value for money in the procurement of services.”

The Auditor-General recommends that the Administrator be held liable for any losses or deficiencies that may occur.

Commenting on the Auditor-General’s report, a financial Expert, Major Ashirifie, told The Fourth Estate, there is need for annual assessments of how public funds released to the various MDAs are utilized.  

He urged Civil Society Organizations to mount intense pressure on the government and its appointees to enforce public financial management laws and ensure prudent use of state funds.

Major Ashirifie also criticized the practice of state institutions rushing to ratify their procurement processes only after the Auditor-General flags their transactions, and called for the abolition of ratification.  

“We need to clear that thing. It’s not working,” he said. “We need to emphasise that ratification is not working. You have to do the right thing now, or you face the consequences.”

When The Fourth Estate wrote to the District Assemblies Common Fund Administrator, Michael Harry Yamson for his comment, he did not respond. Subsequently, we followed up with phone calls and were told by an administrative staff at the Fund that “it’s not going to happen.”