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Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, North Tongu Member of Parliament, has stated that there is a lack of commitment in fighting corruption on the part of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The lawmaker cited the instance of conflict of interest situations involving companies linked to Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta and Minister of State in charge of Finance, Charles Adu Boahen.
”The Finance Minister and the Minister of State in Charge of Finance, what is their own conduct when it comes to these discussions. We have said it without number that there is a clear conflict of Interest that arises.
“The Finance Minister’s Data Bank is still transaction advisor and is still receiving fees. The Minister of State, Charles Adu Boahen’s Black Star Holdings, we have said without number.
“Only this week the Ghana Anti-Corruption Goalition has also put out a statement that it is wrong, why are we accepting this? The President is not acting, the Finance Minister the Honrourable Ken Ofori Atta, the Honourable Charles Adu Boahen continue to profit or to benefit from this clear conflict of interest situation. So are we really committed to the fight against corruption, I don’t see that commitment,” he stressed.
Ablakwa was speaking on TV3’s weekend news analysis programme, Key Points with the discussion centered on IMANI Africa’s report titled: “Financial Recklessness Index: Can The Government Rein Itself In.”
The report identified the Ministry of Finance as the most fiscally reckless entity in Ghana having recorded over GH¢11 billion in losses to the state due to acts of omission and commission by its officials.
The losses are said to have been recorded between 2015 and 2020 and the calculations were based on irregularities tracked in the Auditor-General’s reports for the said years.
“Over the 6-year period, the Ministry of Finance consistently appeared as the most reckless in the institution,” Research Consultant for the IMANI Ghana, Dennis Asare said at a May 31 event to launch the index.
“One major reason is that when we say Ministry of Finance, it is not Ministry of Finance Headquarters. When we say Ministry of Finance in the Auditor-General’s report, it includes subsidiary agencies like the Ghana Revenue Authority, because the Ministry of Finance, beyond its role as a sector ministry, is also a central management entity, that also coordinates the work of other ministries.
“So sometimes, if there is an irregularity, it also appears in the activities of the Ministry of Finance. Key institutions that came out strongly were the GRA and the Controller and Accountant General’s Department,” Mr. Dennis Asare of IMANI Africa explained.
