The Auditor-General has recommended the recovery of GHC 579 million, $44.3 million, and €629,070 from three former top officials central to Ghana’s organization of the 13th African Games.
The recommendations follow a forensic audit commissioned by President Mahama last year, which uncovered widespread cost inflation, irregular payments, and unsupported expenditures across multiple contracts for the continental multi-sport event.
Named in the report for financial recovery are former Minister of Youth and Sports Mustapha Ussif, former Chief Director William Kartey, and former Local Organising Committee (LOC) Chairman Dr. Kwaku Ofosu-Asare. While the Auditor-General did not make any criminal findings, the report directed the trio to refund the money to the state. The report also cited the Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Prof. Amin Alhassan, alongside the three officials regarding a specific broadcast training contract.
According to the audit, the total flagged transactions recommended for recovery stand at GHC 579,114,352.24, $44,354,881.77, and €629,070. The systemic inflation and irregularities spanned catering, accommodation, transport, equipment procurement, infrastructure, and administrative spending.
A breakdown of the findings revealed that $2,826,540 (GHC 33,918,480) in non-feeding costs—including transport, utilities, staffing, infrastructure, and administration—was embedded without justification in a catering contract. Additionally, anti-doping test contracts exceeded benchmark World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) laboratory rates by €572,040 (GHC 8,008,560).
The audit also exposed accommodation inflation, noting that hotel rooms were billed at $150 per night compared to market rates between $50 and $70, causing a variance of $840,000 (GHC 10,080,000). Furthermore, sports equipment contracts for boxing, triathlon, hockey, and arm wrestling exceeded benchmark prices by $322,697.28 (GHC 3,872,367.36), while an additional $374,462.39 (GHC 4,493,548.68) was paid for equipment that was either undelivered or lacked specification.
Logistics and transport contracts under JDK Travel & Tours accounted for over GHC 30 million in irregularities. This included GHC 2,003,121.75 for branding and de-branding, GHC 13,120,226.21 for vehicle hiring overpricing, GHC 2,201,514.00 for over-invoicing adjustments, and GHC 239,520.00 in excess rental charges.
The report further noted that GHC 15,093,666 was diverted to non-Games activities, including payments to Black Stars technical staff. Infrastructure defects at the Aquatic Centre and Legon Stadium are also estimated to require at least GHC 12 million in rectification works, while three single-source infrastructure contracts were overpriced by GHC 5.40 million due to a lack of price-reasonableness assessments.
The largest discrepancy involved major engineering and construction contracts for the Borteyman Sports Complex, University of Ghana Stadium, and Legon Sports Village. Auditors flagged unjustified variations, inflated claims, and unauthorized scope changes, with irregular claims in this category totaling $38,991,182.10 (GHC 467,894,185.20).
The aggregated figures represent what auditors described as “unjustified expenditure, overpricing, undelivered goods, and contractual deviations across the entire Games delivery chain,” focusing recovery efforts on the three primary officials linked to these cost centers.