Public Accounts Committee summons 2 public officials over GH¢8.2m toilet project with no work done

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has directed the summoning of two public officials to account for GH¢8.2 million allocated to toilet construction projects for which no work was executed.

The directive followed the appearance of the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, before the committee on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. The session formed part of deliberations on the Auditor-General’s special audit report on outstanding government commitments as at December 31, 2024.

The funds relate to the “Toilet for All” initiative launched around 2019 under the former Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, involving contracts for 300 household toilets in Kumasi and 200 in Tamale.

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According to the Ministry’s Chief Accountant, Solomon Incho, contractors received mobilisation funds but failed to commence work. Subsequent inspections confirmed that no activity had taken place at the project sites, prompting moves to terminate and reassign the contracts.

Addressing the committee, Mr Ibrahim revealed that the officers who handled the transactions are still in public service.

“The good news is that the officers who handled this transaction are still at post in other ministries. The Director for Procurement was one Mr Theophilus Okine, who is at the Ministry of Defence. The other is one Bright Oduro Kwarteng, who is now Director of Finance at the Ministry of Trade and Agribusiness,” he said.

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“We have the names of the contractors here and the various contracts. They were given mobilisation, but they did not go to the site,” he added.

Efforts to verify the payments were hindered after officials indicated that the supporting documents had been transferred to the National Archives. The explanation drew concern from the committee, which questioned why records relating to relatively recent transactions were unavailable.

Ranking Member of the committee, Samuel Atta-Mills, criticised the development and called for accountability.

“Wherever the documents are, they would have to come with them. You pay somebody mobilisation to go and work, the person does not do it, takes the money, then you come back to abrogate this contract, repackage it and give it to somebody,” he said.

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The committee subsequently directed its clerk to compile a full list of all officials and contractors linked to the contracts for formal summons. All individuals involved are expected to appear before the committee with relevant documentation.

The GH¢8.2 million forms part of a broader GH¢3.1 billion in unreconciled commitments flagged in the audit report. PAC is expected to reconvene for further hearings involving the officials, ministry representatives and the Auditor-General’s Department.