An Accra High Court has struck out a $1 million surcharge issued by the Auditor General against the Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Marfo and five others.
The five are Michael Ayensu, Abraham Kofi Tawiah, Patrick Nomo, and Eva Asselba Mends, all officials of the Ministry of Finance and a UK firm, Kroll and Associates.
The court presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare- Botwe set aside the surcharge after it upheld two separate appeals filed by the Senior Minister and the five others.
Justice Asare-Botwe held that the Auditor General failed to exercise his discretionary power to issue the surcharge in a fair and candid manner as enshrined in the Constitution. She upheld all the grounds of appeal.
In 2017, Mr Osafo Marfo signed a contract with Kroll and Associates on behalf of government to do a value for money auditing on some projects, identify wrongdoers and recover their assets. Kroll was reportedly paid one million dollars.
However following an audit of the accounts of the Ministry of Finance, the Auditor General came to a conclusion that the firm have been paid for no work done.
According to her, evidence on record prove that on October, 8 last year Mr. Osafo Marfo wrote to the Attorney General that evidence proving that Kroll and Associates actually worked were available and therefore officers of the Audit Service could inspect and study it.
