Agenda 111: Govt hiding truth about GH¢600m funding – Minority insists

Written by Kwesitvnewsblog

The Minority in Parliament has accused the government of hiding the truth about the GH¢600 million expenditure advanced for the Agenda 111 project.

The Minority’s position follows the Finance Ministry’s claim that the GH¢600 million is yet to be disbursed.

In a statement responding to concerns raised by the Minority, the ministry said the amount had been released into the project account at the Bank of Ghana.

But the Minority are back again and say they are alarmed and even more concerned about the chain of custody of the GHS600 million allocated for AGENDA 111 projects.

They have, therefore, asking the following questions:

  1. Did the government release GH₵600 million for Agenda 111 in 2020 as per the Ministry of Finance’s statement and when did this happen? Why was this not captured in the 2021 Budget?
  2. Which agency of government is implementing Agenda 111 and is that agency different from the agency holding custody of funds for the same project? Why?
  3. Are funds purported to be lodged at the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund meant for investment management or they are lodged there to be made available to the implementing agency on demand?
  4. Assuming that funds have been released for Agenda 111 projects, what has been the chain of custody of the funds since they left the Consolidated Accounts at the BoG?
  5. Can the government, without releasing funds from the Bank of Ghana to the implementing agency admit to having released same and present same to parliament and the people of Ghana?

The Minority is calling on the Auditor General to immediately constitute an audit team involving the services of a reputable international Audit Firm such as Price Waterhouse coopers (PWC), to immediately Audit the processes leading to the supposed transfer and the expenditure of the GHS600 million between the ministry of finance, the Controller and Accountant General’s Department, the Bank of Ghana, the Ministry of Health and the Office of the Chief of Staff to ascertain the veracity of the claims of the Ministry of Finance.