The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called for heads to roll over the Covid-19 fund infractions captured in the Auditor-General's report.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, the National Communications Officer of the party, Sammy Gyamfi called on President Akufo-Addo to fire the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, Health Minister, Kweku Agyemang Manu and Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.

He further asked the President to also sack the Chief Executive of the National Food Buffer Stock Company and all other officials who were cited in the report for violating the laws of the country in their expenditure of Covid-19 funds.  

He referred to a similar situation in Malawi where the Malawian President, Lazarus Chakwera, cracked the whip on officials of his government who were found to have misused Covid-19 funds.

“The Malawian President is on record to have fired his Labour Minister, Ken Kandodo together with nineteen (19) other Officials. friends, Kandodo's crime was that he used less than $800 of the COVID-19 fund on allowances for a trip to South Africa in the company of the President,” he cited.

He, however, indicated that “here in Ghana, officials of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government receive promotion and patting at the back for engaging in acts of stealing of public funds”

His comments come after the Auditor-General’s report revealed some infractions in government’s expenditure for Covid-19 from March 2020 to June 2022.       

Some of the corrupt practices that were uncovered include; paying a total of US$607,419.02 out of US$4,049,460.12 for the purchase of 26 ambulances that were never delivered, paying unapproved GH ₵151,500 by the Information Ministry to its own staff as Covid insurance, and paying for $80 million worth of vaccines by the government that was never delivered, amongst others.

Mr Gyamfi also urged the Office of the Special Prosecutor to “investigate all Ministers and public officials who have been cited in the report for wrongdoing and bring them to book.”

He went on to urge Parliament to compel the Auditor-General to exercise his power of surcharge and disallowance to retrieve all COVID-19 funds that have been “misapplied or misused through various infractions and veritable acts of criminality.”