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Ghana is yet to obtain 26 ambulances valued at $4 million which it ordered to support COVID-19 management, an Auditor-General’s report on the nation’s COVID-19 expenditure has revealed.
The report, protecting the interval March 2020 to June 2022, revealed that the Ministry of Health signed a contract on December 15, 2021 for the availability of the Toyota Hiace Deluxe ambulances.
Out of the full price of $4,049,460.12, the doc stated $607,419.02 was paid for the vehicles to be delivered by January 15, 2022, however they remained undelivered as of November 28, 2022.
It stated the Chief Director of the Ministry attributed the delay to a request made by the unnamed provider for extension to allow the provider to meet some technical specs.
Management, per the report, indicated that upon technical inspection by the World Bank, further specs had been really helpful and the contract had due to this fact been prolonged to March 2023.
It famous that “Under the current economic difficulties, the supplier could apply for price variation to unduly increase the cost of the contract which could have been avoided if the ambulances had been supplied as scheduled.”
The report, due to this fact, recommended that the Chief Director ought to make sure that the ambulances had been delivered no additional than the prolonged date of March 2023.
Amidst varied infractions, it revealed that out of GH¢21,844,189,185.24 mobilised, GH¢11,750,683,059.11 was spent on COVID-19 actions and the remaining on funds support.
According to the report, about 10.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines value US$81.87 million haven’t been delivered to Ghana regardless of full cost to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the African Union’s African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT).
It stated the Ministry of Health, on behalf of the federal government, paid an quantity of US$120,192,379.80 to UNICEF/AVAT for the availability of 16,025,650 vaccines underneath an settlement in 2020.
However, it famous that 5,109,600.00 doses of vaccines valued at US$38,322,000.00 had been provided to the National Cold Room, leading to an excellent quantity of US$81,870,379.80 with UNICEF/AVAT.
The Chief Director of the Ministry of Health defined that the quantity was paid in anticipation of receiving all of the vaccines inside a brief house of time for vaccination within the nation.
“However, unexpected vaccine donations into the country, coupled with limited vaccine storage capacity and the slow uptake by Ghanaians to be vaccinated, made it impossible to receive the Janssen vaccines that had been paid for,” the report stated.
Based on the report’s recommendation that the Chief Director of the Ministry of Health ought to re-negotiate with UNICEF/AVAT to get well the excellent quantity, the Ministry stated it had initiated a strategy of re-negotiation.
Medical tools valued at US$110,088.00 and GH¢27,895.00 had been issued to a non-public hospital by title Christleads and Specialist Hospital belonging to Dr. C. Ok. Amenuveve in Madina which didn’t function a COVID-19 isolation centre or didn’t obtain any COVID-19 affected person.
The objects included affected person displays, oxygen tube for affected person displays, linen trolley, nebulizer units, oxygen concentrators, oxygen nasal prongs, pulse oximeter desktops, suction machine and syringe pump.
It really helpful that the Chief Director ought to instantly investigate the allocation to the hospital and report accordingly and requested that Dr Amenuveve must be made to pay for the tools at the present price, failing which the quantity must be recovered from the Chief Director.
The report additionally revealed that 1,022,348 doses of vaccines received at the National Cold Room and issued to person amenities had expired at the assorted districts and areas.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
Source: www.ghanaiantimes.com.gh
