Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has debunked claims that government has not been transparent about its Covid-19 expenditure.
Addressing Parliament on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, he said all programmed, mobilised, and utilised funds pertaining to the coronavirus pandemic have been duly reported in line with the government’s commitment to accountability and transparency.
His presentation comes on the back of the Minority NDC MP’s demand for an audit into all Covid-19-related expenses over discrepancies in government’s expenditure data.
However, responding to questions, Mr Ofori-Atta said government is transparent about its expenditure items and will continue to operate an open-door policy and welcome any opportunity to engage in the national interest.
“Mr Speaker, at this juncture, I wish to dispel the notion that there have been inconsistencies in government data on Covid-19. The President intimated during that State of the Nation Address on March 30, 2022, that we had mobilised about Gh¢17.7 billion since 2020 to fight the pandemic.
“We have subsequently reconciled the data, and I can report that as of end-May, 2022, we have mobilised Gh¢18.19 billion to mitigate the effect of the pandemic.
“Again, when the Vice President indicated on April 7, 2022, at the National TESCON Conference that government had spent Gh¢8.1 billion on Covid-19, it was within the context of expenditures for 2020 as I have already indicated,” the Minister said.
This, the Minister explained that out of the Gh¢18.19 billion expended to mitigate the effect of the pandemic, GH¢1,550 million was disbursed under the Support to Households Programme, ¢1,049 million was allocated to health response-supplies equipment, and relief for health workers, ¢600 million was released to begin the construction across the country, and a further GH¢763.92 million has been released to continue the construction of the 111 district hospitals.
He said the government also programmed a total amount of ¢875 million for security operations, evacuating Ghanaians stranded abroad and coordinating MMDAs’ sanitation and disinfection exercises.
Additionally, he said in line with measures to stabilise the economy after the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, government implemented programmes to revitalise the economy and protect jobs. This includes the GH¢600 million utilised under Coronavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support Scheme (CAPBuSS) by the NBSSI, the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA).
Regarding vaccine procurement, the Minister indicated that ¢929.30 million was allocated.
According to him, ¢775.82 million was released for purchasing Sputnik V, the Janssen COV SARS 2 Covid-19 Vaccines and the Emergency deployment of vaccines in schools, among other key government’s disbursements.
source: My Joy Online
