Auditors who reviewed the organisation of the 13th African Games have recommended that €57,030 be recovered from the Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Prof. Amin Alhassan, after concluding that payment was made for a training programme that was never delivered.
The recommendation forms part of the Comprehensive Audit Report on the 13th African Games, which found that GBC paid The Production Room (TPR) for training journalists, reporters and production crew members, despite the absence of evidence that the training took place.
The auditors concluded that the expenditure amounted to wasteful spending that resulted in financial loss to both GBC and the State, and recommended that Prof. Alhassan be held personally liable for the lapse.
No evidence of training
According to the audit report, GBC entered into a €57,030 contract with TPR to train GBC journalists, reporters and production crew as part of the legacy outcomes of the 13th African Games.
The training formed part of GBC’s obligations under its agreement with the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, which required the national broadcaster to ensure that its team of reporters and journalists received training from TPR in broadcasting the Games.
However, the auditors found that none of the GBC production crew deployed to the various competition venues received any formal training from TPR during the Games.
The report said the audit team could not obtain training schedules, attendance registers, participant sign-in sheets, training manuals, course materials or completion certificates to demonstrate that the training had been conducted.
It therefore concluded that there was no verifiable evidence that the contracted services had been delivered.
Scope misunderstood
The audit further revealed what it described as a misunderstanding regarding the scope of the contract.
Interviews conducted with GBC’s Marketing Director indicated that the intention was for TPR to train GBC staff who were not deployed as technical production crew, allowing them to observe and learn during the Games as part of the Legacy Project.
However, the auditors found that this objective was neither clearly captured in the contract nor supported by any documented training framework, implementation plan or list of intended beneficiaries.
The report also noted that the purported training did not contribute directly to the production and broadcasting of the Games since all technical and editorial work was undertaken without reliance on any TPR-led capacity-building programme.
Consequently, the auditors concluded that the engagement failed to provide any measurable value towards the successful broadcasting of the Games.
Procurement concerns
The audit also identified procurement irregularities surrounding the TPR engagement.
It found that the contract originated from an unsolicited proposal without evidence of competitive procurement, a formal needs assessment or any value-for-money analysis.
Additionally, the entire contract value was paid upfront as 100 per cent advance payment, contrary to prudent public financial management practices and without safeguards linking payment to verified deliverables.
Given the absence of proof that the services were rendered, the report concluded that the payment represented wasteful expenditure and resulted in financial loss to GBC and the State.
Laptop procurement raises red flags
The auditors also questioned another aspect of the TPR contract involving the procurement of computer equipment.
The report stated that the original contract provided for the supply of six high-specification laptops for post-production work.
However, an invoice dated March 22, 2024, showed that the number of laptops had been increased to eight, together with the supply of high-end editing software and related post-production tools, while the overall contract value remained €57,030.
According to the audit, the increase from six to eight laptops constituted a significant scope change that was made without any documented approval or formal contract variation.
The report further observed that combining the purchase of laptops with a training contract blurred the distinction between capital expenditure and service expenditure, with no evidence of asset capitalisation records or formal handover documentation.
It also found a weak connection between the laptop procurement and the original Ministry of Sports-GBC contract, noting that the legacy training requirement was never translated into a structured and verifiable capacity-building programme.
Other contracts
The audit further disclosed that GBC awarded additional contracts as part of the broadcasting arrangements for the African Games, including a $165,000 contract with Silicon House Productions for the rental of two Outside Broadcast Production Vans.
Another contract valued at $65,149.46 was awarded to Broadstem Company Limited for the provision of satellite services.
The auditors recommended that all future third-party contracts include clearly defined revenue-sharing arrangements and resource-utilisation clauses to protect public funds and ensure accountability in the management of major national events.
