Auditor General does not have powers to collect surcharges from Zoomlion – Supreme Court | General news

A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court chaired by Justice Jones Dotse has ruled that the auditor general cannot collect a surcharge from waste management company Zoomlion Ghana in a surcharge case.

The surcharge was a problem after an account audit by the National Health Insurance Authority discovered that Zoomlion had received between 2007 and 2018 a total amount of GH ¢ 184,901,650.00

The higher court, in determining the constitutionality of a surcharge of ¢ 184 million GH, imposed on Zoomlion Ghana Limited by the Department of the Auditor General, said that due to the peculiar fact of the case, the defendant is not responsible for the powers of the Auditor General .

Therefore, the court orders the Court of Appeal to determine the case before it on the basis of what the Supreme Court has said.

The court said its full reasons will be ready in the Court Registry for the parties to collect on Friday.

The supreme court panel was giving an interpretation of the constitutional provision that gives the Auditor General the power to deny expenses and collect surcharges from people.

In October 2018, the Auditor General, Yao Domelevo, issued a surcharge and disallowance to the waste management company for more than GH ¢ 184 million for a fumigation exercise carried out for the Ministry of Health (MINSA) but paid for by the Health National. Insurance Authority (NHIA).

The surcharge was issued after an audit of the NHIA accounts determined that Zoomlion had been paid between 2007 and 2018 a total amount of GH ¢ 184,901,650.00 without due process.

According to the Auditor General, Zoomlion continued to receive payment for the fumigation exercise until August 2018 even though the four-year contract that began in 2009 had ended.

“Dissatisfied, on February 6, 2020, Zoomlion appealed the Superior Court’s decision to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeals realized that there was a constitutional interpretation of the case and later referred it to the Supreme Court, ”the report indicates.

The superior court was interpreting article 187 (7) (b) (i) of the 1992 Constitution, which allows the Auditor General to “reject any expense that is contrary to the law and the surcharge, the amount of any expense not allowed to the person responsible for making or authorizing the expense ”.

Zoomlion appealed the Auditor General’s decision in Accra High Court on December 5, 2018 and urged the court to overturn it. On January 31 this year, the High Court chaired by Judge Georgina Mensah-Datsa dismissed the appeal. .