The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament has chastised the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration for spending $2.8 million and €1.79 million on rent for 21 missions’ home-based staff.
In its 2020 report, the Auditor General described the payment of these rents as uneconomic and recommended the use of mortgage systems to alleviate the situation.
However, speaking before the committee, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, stated that the proposed mortgage system for mission accommodation has been a challenge.
He stated that the government’s policy is to acquire properties for all of its foreign missions, but obtaining financing has been a major challenge for the Ministry. “The government’s policy is to acquire properties for the missions, residency and chancery but the reality on the ground is that it is not easy for Foreign Missions to get mortgages in these foreign countries. So far we haven’t succeeded. We are exploring a whole range of avenues to try and raise the needed funds.
“We have made some progress, and we are hopeful that we will get there.”
The Committee also expressed concern about the Ministry’s payment of GHS7.9 million for a project that began in 2007 at a cost of GHS1.4 million.
However, the ministry, the contractor abandoned the project in 2008, but the contract was renegotiated in 2017 to GHS7.9 million despite an initial payment of approximately 90% of the total amount.
