Ofori-Atta Needed Speaker’s “Approval” To Withdraw From Contingency Vote – Bright Simons Explains

• Bright Simons has said Ken Ofori-Atta could not have withdrawn money from the Contingency Vote as easily as he has purported to have done to fund the cathedral project
• The respected IMANI Africa resource person said the finance minister could not have withdrawn money from the vote without the input of the Speaker and a member of the council of state
• The minister has been accused of withdrawing money from the Consolidated Fund without Parliaments approval but he argues that he withdrew the money from the Contingency Vote which does not require Parliament's approval

Bright Simons has punched holes in Ken Ofori-Atta's claim that he did nothing wrong when he withdrew cash from the Contingency Vote to fund the controversial cathedral project.

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Ofori-Atta told an ad hoc committee meeting hearing a censure motion filed by the Minority in Parliament against him that he did not withdraw the funds from the Consolidated Fund as has been alleged.

The finance minister said while he needed the approval of Parliament to withdraw from the Consolidated Fund, he didn't need that to withdraw funds from the Contingency Vote.

But the Bright Simons, vice president of think tank IMANI Africa, has said the finance minister could still not have drawn money from the Contingency Vote without the input of the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin.

"The 'Contingency Vote' powers derive from another part of the constitution which is the only other way to spend outside Parliamentary control. However, it requires concurrence of the Speaker of Parliament. So, simple: was the Speaker part of the decision to fund the cathedral?" he asked in a tweet.

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The respected social innovator backed his view on the matter by publishing a screenshot of Article 179 of the Constitution.

What Ofori-Atta Said About Consolidated Fund And Contingency Vote That Is Trended

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that the finance minister's justification for releasing funds for the National Cathedral project without Parliament's approval was slammed by some Ghanaians on social media.

One of the grounds for the Minority's motion of censure against him is that he engaged in “unconstitutional withdrawals from the Consolidated Fund" to fund the project.

But when he appeared before the ad hoc committee hearing the motion on Friday, November 18, 2022, the minister stated that he did not withdraw from the Consolidated Fund but from the Contingency Vote.

"It appears the proponents have confused the Contingency Fund with the Contingency Vault. Let me explain. There is a difference between Contingency Fund and Contingency Vault...

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National Cathedral: Ken Ofori-Atta denies withdrawing funds from contingency fund for construction of project

"The Contingency Vault, on the other hand, is a line under the 'Other Government Obligations' vault which is approved by the Finance Committee and passed as part of the annual Appropriation Acts passed by Parliament," he told the committee.

Source: YEN.com.gh