About GH¢850,616 spent on consultancy fees by the National Development Planning Commission in 2016 did not bear official receipts to acknowledge receipt of those payment by beneficiaries, the Auditor General’s 2019 Report on Public Boards, Corporations and other Statutory Institutions has revealed.

It is therefore advising that accountants henceforth demand receipts and other relevant documents and attach them to the respective vouchers for the Auditor General’s reviews.

Furthermore, it wants official receipts and all relevant documentation needed to fully account for the said amount spent on consultancy fees to the audit team for verification.

“We noted that the Commission spent GH¢45,898 on staff who were admitted in various Medical centers for consumption of poisonous food contracted by administration for stakeholders meeting. We advised that management should as matter of urgency put in place food policy to safeguard the lives of staff and other participants of various meeting at the instance of the Commission”, the report further said.

The report also identified that the NDPC paid an amount of GH¢17,422 to one Ms. Veronica Baffoe who was on Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) scholarship as travel time and shipment allowance without supporting documents.

The Auditor General’s report recommended that the Finance Officer obtain the supporting documents to cover the payments and inform the office accordingly, failure which may lead to the Auditor General disallowing and surcharge the authorising and paying officers with the amount involved in accordance with Section 18 of the Audit Service Act 2000, Act 584.