Accra: Details of an audit report on arrears owed by the previous government led by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo have revealed shocking financial misappropriation and what looked like an attempt to steal millions of state funds.
According to Ghana Web, the audit report, which was produced by the Ghana Audit Service in partnership with EY and PwC, showed that millions of state funds were nearly stolen through the creation of fake debts under the One-District One-Factory (1D1F) initiative. The report, shared by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, in Parliament on March 10, 2026, indicated that over GHS89 million was scheduled to be paid as interest on loans to five banks in 2024. However, the banks in question reported that the government did not owe them any money.
The then Ministry of Trade and Industry had requested GHS89.4 million to be transferred to five commercial banks as government contributions to interest payments under the 1D1F initiative. This request was processed by the Ministry of Finance and forwarded to the Controller and Accountant General's Department for payment. Upon inquiry, auditors found that none of the banks acknowledged any liability from the government, labeling the GHS89.4 million debt as fictitious. The audit's intervention potentially saved this substantial amount of public funds from being disbursed to settle a non-existent liability.
Further scrutiny revealed a payment of GHS10.5 million, recorded in the initiative's books as having been made to a commercial bank, was untraceable. The bank confirmed that no such payment was received, and the cited account did not exist within the bank's records.
Dr. Forson highlighted the need for a forensic audit of over GHS391 million spent by the previous government on the 1D1F initiative, citing the presence of fake bank accounts linked to the program. This call underscores the significant financial discrepancies uncovered in the audit report.