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Millions of cedis in revenue and expenditure at the Irrigation Company of Upper Region Limited (ICOUR) have come under scrutiny after the Auditor-General identified unaccounted funds, unapproved spending, unpaid revenues and unsupported transactions at the state-owned irrigation company.
Among the most serious findings is GH¢269,559.50 collected from farmers for fertilizer under the Food Security and Resilience Project but allegedly not lodged into the designated revolving account.
The Auditor-General says the revenue cashier, Peter Chanase, collected the money but failed to deposit it into the account supplied by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture under the implementation arrangements of the project.
The audit has recommended that ICOUR take steps, including legal action, to recover the full amount from former Managing Director Dr Benedict Bonaventure Aligebam and the revenue cashier.
But the fertilizer revenue issue does not end there.
The audit found that Dr Aligebam further disbursed the GH¢269,664.98 from fertilizer sales proceeds for purposes that had not been approved.
The funds were supposed to be paid into a revolving fund account to be established by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Instead, according to the Auditor-General, they were used for other purposes.
The report has consequently recommended that sanctions under Section 96 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) be applied to the former Managing Director.
GH¢548,408 in spending without supporting documents
ICOUR also could not account for significant expenditure incurred between January 2023 and June 2025.
The audit found that the company made payments totalling GH¢246,864.32 for various goods and services without providing supporting documents.
In a separate set of transactions, ICOUR paid another GH¢301,544.61 but could not produce documents including attendance lists, receipts, original invoices, invitation letters and signed claim sheets to authenticate the payments.
Together, the two categories amounted to GH¢548,408.93, which the Auditor-General recommended should be recovered from the former Managing Director and the Finance and Administration Manager.
Another GH¢76,303.26 was paid for various goods and services, but supporting documents were provided for only GH¢51,663.16.
This left an unaccounted balance of GH¢27,520.10, which the Auditor-General recommended should be recovered from the former Managing Director, the Finance and Administration Manager and the Operations Manager.
Former MD authorised spending after leaving office
The audit also raises questions over expenditure authorised after Dr Aligebam’s official tenure at ICOUR had ended.
According to the Auditor-General, the former Managing Director authorised expenditures totalling GH¢189,550.18 after the end of his official tenure.
The report says records showed that GH¢90,555.70 of that amount was illegally paid to Dr Aligebam.
ICOUR has been directed to take steps, including legal action, to recover the GH¢90,555.70.
Fertilizer and irrigation revenues left outstanding
The audit further found that ICOUR’s revenue collection systems were failing to recover significant amounts owed to the company.
The revenue cashier was found to have collected GH¢19,893 in irrigation levies between February 8, 2024 and January 4, 2025 but failed to deposit the money into ICOUR’s bank accounts.
The Auditor-General has recommended recovery of the amount from the former Managing Director and the cashier.
ICOUR also failed to recover GH¢66,638.20 in salary advances owed by 28 employees as at November 2025.
Three former employees separately owed the company GH¢53,987 in salary advances, according to the audit, with the Auditor-General recommending steps including legal action to recover the money.
There was also a much larger revenue gap involving farmers.
Fifteen Water Users’ Association farmer groups were expected to pay GH¢2.22 million in cropped-land fees for 2023 and 2024, but paid only GH¢1.41 million.
An outstanding GH¢805,655.01 remained unpaid.
US$1.5m promise ends with demolished roof
The audit also questions ICOUR’s management of partnerships intended to improve facilities and benefit farmers.
One of the companies, Vinkumans Company Limited, signed an agreement with ICOUR to renovate, manage and operate the Club and Guest Houses at Tono, Navrongo.
Under the agreement, the company committed to investing US$1.5 million to improve the profitability of the facilities.
Instead, the Auditor-General says, Vinkumans only demolished the roof of the clubhouse and subsequently abandoned the project.
A carpenter’s estimate put the cost of re-roofing the abandoned clubhouse at GH¢42,230.
The Auditor-General has therefore urged ICOUR to review its agreements with the five companies and terminate those where contractual obligations have not been met, while seeking credible partners capable of delivering benefits to farmers.
372 hectares of irrigable land left unused
The audit also found that 372.53 hectares of irrigable farmland had not been allocated to farmers, despite ICOUR’s inability to meet demand from eligible farmers.
The Auditor-General recommended improvements to irrigation infrastructure, including additional night reservoirs in areas with unused irrigable land.
Meanwhile, a World Bank Power Project intended to provide cheaper electricity for pump stations at the Tono Irrigation Project remained incomplete as of the September 2025 audit.
Solar panels installed to help power the pump stations were also not operational, limiting efforts to provide water to night reservoirs in the highland areas.
Procurement breaches flagged
The Auditor-General further found that ICOUR procured goods worth GH¢289,550 from three suppliers without obtaining valid prequalification documents, including Tax Clearance Certificates, Public Procurement Authority registration certificates and SSNIT clearance certificates.
The report has recommended sanctions under Section 92 of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663), as amended, against the officers involved.
The findings paint a picture of an irrigation company struggling not only with revenue collection and financial controls, but also with ensuring that partnerships, procurement and infrastructure investments deliver the intended benefits to farmers.
The Auditor-General has recommended recoveries, sanctions and corrective measures across the various findings.
Source: Bolgafmonline.com| 102.7 MHz| Auditor-General’s Report 2025
