The Ghana Audit Service has begun an audit of road construction in the country. The audit which is a novelty in the annals of auditing in the country would be in phases. The first phase focuses on roads under the supervision of the Ghana Highways Authority.

The audit commenced in earnest in Accra with the coring of samples from the East Legon to Spintex road (motorway underpass) as well as the Tetteh Quarshie to Madina stretch of the Tetteh Quarshie-Adenta highway, all in Accra.

Purpose of the audit

The construction audit is part of a performance audit aimed at ascertaining value for money in construction works in the country. According to the Auditor General, Mr. Daniel Yaw Domelevo, the audit was informed by the continuous outcry of Ghanaians about shoddy construction works in the country.

The Auditor General Mr. Daniel Yaw Domelevo said, “roads are constructed and within a very short time they deteriorate so (for us) to establish that there is value for money, the roads that are being constructed must meet specifications”. According to the Auditor-General if the outcome of the construction audit reveals that a contractor has cheated government “that expenditure would be disallowed and whosoever is responsible for the expenditure would be surcharged”.

Mr. Domelevo cautioned contractors to be patriotic enough and deliver works for which they have been paid. He appealed to Ghanaians to rise up and demand for what is good and what is right from service providers and not settle for average

works from contractors since the safety of every citizen using a public building or road is at stake.

Scope of audit and processes

The audit would cover selected highways and public buildings in the Greater Accra, Western, Central, Volta and Upper East regions. The audit processes would involve reviewing contract documents of the selected works, coring of selected portions of asphalted roads, measurement of the length and width of the roads carriageway, testing the strength of concrete structures such as drains, culverts and retaining walls.

The cored asphalt samples, according to the audit team leader, Mr. Lawrence N. Ayagiba, an Assistant Auditor-General, would be tested at a laboratory to examine among others, the bitumen content, depth or layers of the asphalt and strength, and matched against the contract specifications. This laboratory examination, according to Mr. Ayagiba, would help the team to determine whether the nation is getting value for money in construction works.

On the 4.6km Tetteh Quarshie –Madina stretch, the team drilled four different locations to take cylinder core samples of the road to measure the depth of the asphalt. The locations were, Shashie opposite the Ghana Standards Authority which 107mm, Okponglo junction was 125mm, Legon ECG,97mm, and Legon PRESEC Junction 130mm and Atomic Junction service lane 85mm.

Mr. Ayagiba disclosed that, in line with audit procedures, the team would produce a report for the Auditor-General to submit to Parliament and citizens would be duly informed about the findings of the audit.