A forensic audit commissioned by President John Dramani Mahama in 2025 into the 13th African Games hosted in Ghana has uncovered widespread financial irregularities, including cost inflation, unsupported payments, procurement breaches and questionable contract awards.
The 700-page report, submitted to Parliament by the Auditor General and referenced AG.SAR/2026/03, found that GH¢580,042,347.40 in irregular expenditures were recorded out of a total GH¢2.245 billion spent on the event held from March 8 to 23, 2024. The audit was conducted under Section 16 of the Audit Service Act, 2000 (Act 584), following a request from the Office of the President dated October 22, 2025.
The report further disclosed an outstanding liability of GH¢208,583,739.49, comprising GH¢155,123,020.15, US$4,118,155.65 and EUR 288,775.11.
Three former officials, former Minister for Youth and Sports Mustapha Ussif, former Chief Director William Kartey and former LOC Chairman Dr Kwaku Ofosu Asare, were repeatedly cited for recovery actions and sanctions across multiple findings.
The audit identified significant inflation in several key contracts, including sports equipment procurement, accommodation, transportation and anti doping services. In one case, GH¢38.9 million was paid for sports equipment, although items worth about US$206,000 were not supplied. An additional US$408,000 was included in the contract without specification or documentation, leading to an estimated overpayment of about GH¢4.5 million.
Anti doping tests costing €739,000 were found to be significantly overpriced compared to international benchmarks, with an estimated overcharge of €572,000, about GH¢8 million.
Accommodation costs for officials were also inflated. While US$1.58 million was paid for hotel rooms through JDK Travel and Tours, market analysis put the reasonable cost at about US$735,000, resulting in an overpricing of roughly US$840,000, about GH¢10.1 million.
JDK Travel and Tours, engaged for accommodation and transport services despite lacking relevant licensing, received payments running into millions of cedis. The firm was paid US$1.58 million for accommodation arrangements, GH¢45.7 million for transportation services and GH¢3.16 million for branding activities.
Auditors flagged overpricing in vehicle hire contracts amounting to about GH¢13.1 million, with additional questionable invoicing of GH¢2.2 million and inflated branding costs of GH¢2.0 million.
The report revealed that 14 major contracts worth GH¢336.6 million were executed as lump sum payments without adequate documentation linking payments to actual services delivered. Supporting records such as passenger manifests, rooming lists and usage logs were largely absent.
Catering contracts also included unjustified non-feeding costs totalling US$2.83 million, covering logistics, staffing, infrastructure and administrative expenses without proper verification.
Auditors identified GH¢20.4 million in irregular cash withdrawals and GH¢15.1 million in payments for unrelated activities, including expenditures for national football team officials.
The audit also flagged GH¢150.6 million in contracts involving companies with shared beneficial ownership, raising concerns about conflicts of interest and non-competitive procurement practices.
The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation was cited for irregular contracts worth about GH¢3.56 million and a training contract of €57,000 with no evidence of delivery. The audit also estimated potential revenue losses of GH¢59.5 million due to poor broadcast management.
Infrastructure inspections revealed construction defects across major facilities, with an estimated US$1 million required for remedial works. At the Borteyman Sports Complex, variation orders resulted in a net loss of US$34.4 million due to scope changes and claims. Similar irregularities were identified at the University of Ghana Stadium.
The audit found that contracts worth about GH¢2.7 billion were awarded through single-source procurement without proper justification. It also noted concerns about the long-term sustainability of the facilities, citing poor maintenance and a non-functional legacy management structure.
Auditors warned that outstanding obligations under the Host Agreement with the African Union Commission could affect Ghana’s eligibility for future editions of the Games.
The Auditor General recommended recovery of irregular funds from the three principal officials and called for sanctions under procurement laws in several instances.
The report concluded that the irregularities reflected systemic weaknesses in governance and procurement controls rather than isolated errors, urging comprehensive reforms to prevent recurrence.
