Okyere Baafi questions credibility of Auditor-General’s report
A former Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Michael Okyere Baafi, has challenged the Auditor-General to make its report on claims that there is a GH¢89.4 million to be paid as interest subsidies to five commercial banks on behalf of some One District One Factory (1D1F) companies.
“It was only in Parliament when the minister came to read a statement that he gave us a little extract from the report which we have not seen,” he advocated.
Speaking in an interview in Koforidua, Mr Okyere Baafi, who is also the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, therefore, questioned the credibility of the Auditor-General’s report.
No loan
He said under an arrangement the Ministry of Trade and the 1D1F Secretariat had with participating financial institutions, there was a request for loan advancement for beneficiary 1D1F companies.
He, however, said the banks never advanced the loans to any of the companies for the government to pay any subsidy interest on them.
“If the banks did not advance loans to 1D1F companies, where and how would the government pay interest, or those companies pay interest for the government to even commit some money to also satisfy its part of the contract,” he said.
Fictitious debt
Delivering a statement to Parliament on the Auditor-General’s report on arrears and payables as of end-2024, the deputy Finance Minister said the Ministry of Trade and Industry, in 2024, submitted a request for GH¢89.4 million to the Ministry of Finance to be transferred to five commercial banks as government contributions toward interest payments under the 1D1F programme.
He said the MoF subsequently processed the request to the Controller and Accountant General’s Department for payment.
However, he said auditors’ verification revealed that none of the five banks had any record of being owed the stated amounts, thereby classifying the GH¢89.4 million as a fictitious debt.
Incentive package
Mr Okyere Baafi explained that under the 1D1F agreement, the government had a specialised incentive package for all 1D1F companies.
As a result, he said any company that wanted to become a part of the 1D1F programme was offered the package.
Under such a package, he said, companies that did not have money, equity or private arrangements to secure loans from banks were supported by the 1D1F Secretariat to secure facilities.
That, he said, was made possible through an arrangement the secretariat had with participating financial institutions.
No fictitious debt
The New Juaben South MP said the arrangement was that anytime a request was sent from the 1D1F Secretariat to the banks, the ministry would also write a request to the Ministry of Finance for the ministry to know the government’s commitment to paying when the loan was finally advanced.
