Resign honourably! UTAG-UG to Auditor-General over “unethical” audit report

Teachers at the University of Ghana (UG) are calling for the resignation of Auditor-General Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu. This demand follows a report that implicated the university.

At a press conference on May 20, Dr. Jerry Joe Harrison spoke on behalf of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG-UG). He criticized the Auditor-General for claiming irregularities in a payroll audit report.

The report stated that UG overstated employee compensation by GH¢59.2 million. However, university management has denied this claim.

Dr. Harrison noted that they were not given the initial audit report before it was made public. He called this a serious breach of ethical standards.

He added that such negligence shows incompetence or mischief. Therefore, he urged the Auditor-General to resign or face a petition for removal.

Dr. Harrison also demanded punishment for those involved in the audit process. He emphasized that auditing should not be used to block legitimate payments from institutions.

The report indicated that between 2022 and 2024, UG submitted salary claims totaling GH¢1.09 billion. However, only GH¢1.03 billion was approved after verification, revealing GH¢59.24 million in overstatements.

This report includes broader financial recoveries based on recommendations from previous Auditor-General reports from 2020 to 2023.

After the report's release, UG's Acting Deputy Internal Auditor, Prof. Samuel Simpson, dismissed its claims as misleading and lacking context. He explained to MyJoyOnline that "the numbers alone don't tell the full story."

Prof. Simpson stated there are processes behind these figures that were not captured in the Auditor-General's report. He argued it is incorrect to suggest UG overstated employee compensation.

He provided an example: if the government funds two staff members but UG needs five, using internally generated funds (IGF) for three additional staff is not savings or fraud.

Prof. Simpson insisted that all expenditures were properly documented by the university. He claimed many details were missing from the auditor’s report regarding processes and engagements involved in payroll management.

He concluded by stating there was no payroll fraud as alleged in the release about overstated employee compensation.