COVID-19: Former finance minister Seth Terkper calls for account for funds
- Seth Terkper, who previously served as minister of finance, has called on the government to open up on COVID-19 funds
- He explained that he has been informed the government is diverting such funds into other pressing areas
- The government has, since the outbreak of COVID-19, sourced funds from various institutions including the Bank of Ghana, the IMF, and the World Bank
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Former minister of finance, Seth Terkper, has called on the government to come clean on the various funds provided for the fight against the coronavirus.
His call comes ahead of a planned mid-year budget review to be presented to Parliament by the current minister of finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
The government, in a bid to combat the outbreak of COVID-19, accessed funds from different sources such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, Stabilization Fund, and the Bank of Ghana.
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Per a report by citibusinessnews.com, Terkper argued that the government is diverting some of the funds to address its pressing needs.
He added that the increasing rate of borrowing by the government is a cause for concern.
He warned of fiscal credibility challenges for the country if the government continues to exclude exceptional costs from its budget reports.
Terkper went on to say it would be fair to previous administrations and to Ghanaians for the government to share details of such reports.
Source: UGC
This, he added, was due to accusations by the government of poor performance by previous administrations.
Ofori-Atta reportedly stated that the coronavirus would cost Ghana an estimated GHc9.5 billion, which is equal to 2.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
In other news, information available to YEN.com.gh shows that Ofori-Atta will soon present the mid-year budget review to Parliament.
He will present it on Thursday, 23 July 2020, and the action is in line with the requirement of Section 28 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921).
It has been gathered that the minister will also use the opportunity to request supplementary estimates.
READ ALSO: Government to soon roll out packages for unemployed Ghanaians - Finance Minister
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Source: YEN.com.gh
