The Auditor General, Daniel Domelevo has intensified calls for the grant of authority to the office of the Auditor General to prosecute and surcharge individuals who infringe on procurement laws.

His comments come in the wake of some GHS 5.4 billion wrongfully paid to contractors and other service providers by officials at various ministries between 2014 to 2017.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Monday, February 5, Mr Dormelevo said his office has already applied to the Attorney General’s office to be given a fiat to prosecute individuals found culpable.

“Do you have prosecutorial powers? No, I don’t have, as at now completely zero. Can I hav? Yes! That is if a fiat is given by the Attorney General to Audit Service just like he has given to the police and others to prosecute…If I get that fiat, you will see me in action,” he explained.

He said the his department has a legal division who scrutinize cases before being made public and the Attorney General’s office has so much work hence if he is given the authority to prosecute, surcharging can be expedited to retrieve wrongly paid monies.