The Ghana Audit Service has submitted a comprehensive 700-page audit report to Parliament on 26 February 2026, exposing total financial irregularities of GH₵580,042,347.40 in the organization of the 13th African Games, Accra 2023.

The audit uncovered widespread inflated contracts, procurement breaches, payments for undelivered goods, defective infrastructure works, and cash transactions that completely bypassed government financial controls.

The three officials most frequently named for sanctions and recovery are former Sports Minister Mustapha Ussif, former Chief Director William Kartey, and Local Organising Committee Chairman Dr Kwaku Ofosu-Asare.

Ghana won the hosting rights in October 2018 and Parliament later approved a US$170 million loan from CalBank Ghana Limited in conjunction with a US$145 million construction contract with Contracta Construction UK Limited. Total funds received and spent on the Games amounted to GH₵2.245 billion, yet a liability of GH₵208.58 million remained unresolved at the time of the audit.

The report highlights 15 major categories of financial irregularities.

These include unjustified non-feeding costs of US$2.826 million embedded in the catering contract, overpriced anti-doping tests by EUR 572,040, and accommodation overpricing of US$840,000 by JDK Travel & Tours. Sports equipment was both heavily overpriced and partly undelivered, while vehicle hire contracts were inflated by GH₵13.12 million.

Auditors also flagged GH₵150.6 million in contracts awarded to three companies sharing the same beneficial owner, Mr John Kwadwo Debrah. Major infrastructure projects suffered significant issues, including a US$34.4 million scope reduction at the Borteyman Sports Complex, irregular claims at the University of Ghana Stadium and Legon Sports Village, and defective works across several venues estimated to cost at least GH₵12 million to rectify.

Other findings include poor broadcasting revenue performance by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, unrelated payments of GH₵15 million from LOC accounts, large cash withdrawals of GH₵20.37 million that bypassed GIFMIS controls, and 55 single-sourced contracts worth approximately GH₵2.7 billion awarded without proper justification.

The Auditor-General has recommended full recovery of the identified losses and sanctions against the three main officials, as well as GBC Director-General Prof. Amin Alhassan for broadcasting-related irregularities.

Despite the intention to transform the facilities into a lasting University of Sport, poor post-Games management has left many venues at risk of becoming white elephants.

The report paints a picture of serious systemic failures in financial oversight, procurement discipline, and project execution during what was meant to be a proud national project.