A temporal embargo has been placed on all activities of the Ministry of Finance in Parliament until the Minister for Finance; Ken Ofori-Atta comes to account to Parliament on the 19 billion COVID-19 expenditure.
The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, gave the directives on the Floor of Parliament on Thursday, June 16, 2022 after the Finance Minister failed to honor a scheduled appearance in Parliament to give accounts to the House for the utilization of the COVID-19 funds as well as provide answers to some 17 Parliamentary questions filed by Members of Parliament concerning his Ministry.
The Members of Parliament in the Minority group were disappointed when the scheduled appearance of the Finance Minister in the House as was captured on the provisional Order Paper for the previous day, was left out in the order of business to be conducted for the day.
They did not take it kindly when they were later informed that the Finance Minister had asked Parliament to reschedule his appearance before the House to next week Wednesday, June 22, 2022.
The Deputy Minority Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, raised the matter on the Floor of the House, insinuating that the Minister was avoiding accountability since his appointment with Parliament has been missed twice already.
The Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, defended the Finance Minister when he indicating that Mr. Ofori-Atta had sought permission from him to be given some more time to come and give the accounts to Parliament and that there was no way the Minister was going to run away from any accountability.
Though the Speaker admitted that the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, had sought permission from him to be rescheduled to appear before the House next week, he reiterated his directive to withhold every transaction from the Finance Ministry until he has come to account for the resources already approved for the COVID-19 expenses in the past.
“Until he comes to respond to the questions and to submit a statement including explanations as to how that money has been applied, we will not entertain any business from that Ministry. Mark my words,” the Rt. Hon. Speaker, Alban Bagbin emphasized.
