The Auditor-General’s Department has recommended that former Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, be surcharged over financial irregularities linked to Ghana’s hosting of the 13th African Games.

Also cited in the recovery recommendation are former Chief Director of the Ministry, William Kartey, and former Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Dr. Kwaku Ofosu-Asare.

The recommendation follows a forensic audit commissioned by President John Dramani Mahama in 2025 to examine expenditure related to Ghana’s organisation of the continental sporting event.

According to the audit findings, investigators uncovered widespread financial discrepancies involving inflated costs, unsupported payments, unexecuted contracts and procurement irregularities across several sectors tied to the Games.

Although the report stopped short of making criminal determinations, the Auditor-General recommended that the three officials be held jointly liable for the recovery of GH¢579,114,352.24, together with $44,354,881.77 and €629,070.

The report also mentioned Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Prof. Amin Alhassan, in connection with a broadcasting training contract associated with the Games.

Auditors identified irregularities across multiple expenditure areas, including catering, accommodation, transportation, equipment procurement and infrastructure development.

Among the findings were $2.8 million in undocumented catering-related expenses, €572,040 linked to alleged overpricing in anti-doping services and $840,000 in questionable accommodation costs.

The audit further highlighted over GH¢30 million in transport and logistics discrepancies, as well as payments for sporting equipment reportedly not supplied or lacking proper specifications.

Additional concerns raised in the report included GH¢15.09 million in payments unrelated to the Games and GH¢12 million tied to defects at facilities such as the Aquatic Centre and the University of Ghana Stadium.

The most significant irregularities, however, were linked to engineering and construction contracts involving the Borteyman Sports Complex, the University of Ghana Stadium and the Legon Sports Village, where auditors flagged nearly GH¢468 million in what they described as unjustified contract variations, inflated claims and deviations from approved agreements.

The Auditor-General concluded that the findings revealed extensive financial breaches in the planning and execution of the Games and recommended full recovery of the flagged amounts from the officials named in the report.