Minority debunks claims of missing GH¢7bn
The Minority Caucus in Parliament has categorically debunked claims made by the Vice-President, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, to the effect that the Mahama government failed to disclose expenditures to the tune of GH¢7 billion.
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At a news conference in Accra to react to the claim published in the February 1, 2017 edition of the Ghanaian Times, the Ranking Member of Finance, Mr Cassiel Ato Forson, said the amount in question was the result of a reform on government contracts and expenditures which formed part of the Ghana Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS) project.
He explained that the project, which the new government was expected to continue implementing, was covered in the new Public Financial Management Act under the Budget Responsibility provision.
Mr Forson explained that in the past, government arrears had been defined as only three to six months of outstanding certificates submitted to the Ministry of Finance for work done by contractors, in spite of the fact that ministries in particular could have ongoing projects that could extend beyond a fiscal year.
Contract database
He said what the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration started doing was create a contract database for all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to show the total contract sum and variations, the amount of contract certified and the amount paid to date and the outstanding claims.
Against that backdrop, Mr Forson, who is the immediate past Deputy Finance Minister, posited that those steps marked a departure from the old definition of arrears that focused on only a maximum of six months’ commitment.
Flanked by the Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr James Avedzi, and Alhaji Muhammed Muntaka Mubarak, the Minority Chief Whip, Mr Forson indicated that while that approach was more transparent, it was work in progress planned to lead to a shift from cash-based budgeting to accrual-based budgeting and preparation of the public account.
He said that information was available at the Ministry of Finance, since it was part of ongoing structural reforms, “as with the borrowing and debt management strategies that the Vice-President is now known to have grossly misrepresented”.
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Among the goals of the database, according to the former deputy minister, were to ensure that MDAs did not award new contracts while having outstanding commitment and MDAs made provision in the current budget for outstanding contracts before new ones were allowed.
“Hence, in his usual political expediency mode, the Vice-President has set aside a major effort to move the country away from cash-basis accounting to accrual accounting and bring expenditure management under firmer control,” Mr Forson added.
Displeasure
He expressed displeasure at what he described as Dr Bawumia’s tendency to rush to the public without taking the time to understand the rationale for reforms and initiatives, stressing that “the GH¢7 billion the Vice-President is making reference to is part of the contract database and outstanding commitments and does not constitute the conventional definition of arrears”.