Confidential documents intercepted by JOYNEWS have revealed how the board and key management staff of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) spent over GH¢11 million on foreign travels in 2024 without government approval.

In 2020, the Ministry of Finance issued a directive that no public service officer shall travel on official business without prior approval.

Such travel must be cleared through the Chief of Staff. However, management of MIIF disregarded this administrative guideline.

According to the confidential report by the Ghana Audit Service, the board and key management of MIIF spent more than GH¢11 million on foreign travel in 2024 without the required approvals.

The report indicated that the trips were undertaken without prior authorisation from the Chief of Staff, the sector minister, or the Chief Director.

The Administrative Guidelines for the Implementation of Foreign Travel Allowances, issued by the Ministry of Finance in October 2020, stipulate that public servants of the rank of Director and below must seek approval from the sector minister or, where applicable, the Chief Director. This was not followed.

Auditors noted that MIIF’s disregard for this directive led to the infraction. In response to the findings, MIIF’s Head of Human Resources stated that all travels requiring approval from the Chief Executive Officer or Chief Director were duly cleared.

He added that, for international travel requests involving public servants above the Director grade, the HR and Administration Department acted on directives from the CEO’s secretariat, and all request memos were available for verification.

Former MIIF CEO Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, however, maintained that the Chief of Staff at the time had been informed of all the trips.

But the auditors noted that no correspondence between MIIF and the Office of the Chief of Staff was provided to support this claim.

Another audit of MIIF’s financial statements and annual report revealed that the Fund also spent more than GH¢2 million on sitting allowances within two years.

In 2024 alone, GH¢1.2 million was paid out, while almost GH¢1 million was paid in 2023.

The board during the previous administration consisted of nine members. When JOYNEWS contacted those cited in the audit, they declined to comment.