GH₵8.2m “Toilet for All” money squandered …PAC grills two officials

GoldBod Pumps GH¢8.4m Into Water Projects

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee is preparing to question two government officials over the disbursement of GH₵8.2 million for a sanitation initiative that reportedly never took off.
The payments, made as mobilisation funds under the “Toilet for All” programme launched in 2019, are at the centre of the probe. The officials linked to the transactions—Bright Oduro Kwarteng and Theophilus Okine—are expected to explain how the funds were released despite no work being carried out.
Addressing the Committee, the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, revealed that efforts to trace the documentation backing the payments have been unsuccessful so far. According to him, officials involved claim the records were transferred to the National Archives, a development he found questionable given the relatively recent timeline of the transactions.
He explained that the payments were made during the tenure of the former Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, then headed by Cecilia Dapaah. Despite the passage of time, he noted that the key officers who handled the transactions are still serving in other state institutions and should be able to account for their roles.
The Minister further disclosed that contractors were paid mobilisation funds for projects, including household toilet construction in Kumasi and Tamale, but failed to move to site or execute any work. He assured the Committee that details of the contractors and payment amounts would be made available to support investigations.
Ranking Member of the Committee, Samuel Atta-Mills, has since directed that all relevant officials appear before the Committee with the necessary documentation. He raised concerns over the release of funds without performance and criticised what he described as weak record-keeping practices within the ministry.
The Committee is expected to conduct a public hearing into the matter once all individuals involved have been summoned, as it seeks to establish accountability and determine how public funds were disbursed without corresponding work.

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