Government never spent MPs Common Fund on DRIP Program– Finance Minister Clears

The Finance Minister Dr Mohammed Amin Adam Anta, has disputed the assertion by the opposition members of parliament that government used their share of the common fund to procure the Road Construction Equipment, for the District Roads Improvement Programme (DRIP).

He said it is never true that the DRIP program is being funded with the MPs Common Fund.

The minister who is also Member of Parliament for Karaga constituency made these remarks when he joined the Northern Regional Minister Alhaji Alhassan Shani Shaibu and other stakeholders to disburse the equipment to the various MMDAs in the Northern Region.

“Let me also use this platform to dispel the falsehood that is moving around in some of our districts and constituencies about the source of this equipment. This project is the government of Ghana project under the leadership of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo. I have heard some parliamentary candidates say that their share of MPs Common Fund were put together and under the instructions of the MPs. he government used that money to procure this equipment. This cannot be true. This cannot be a fact,” he narrated.

The Minister further stated that, “this year alone, the government allocated GHc 5.7 billion to the District Assembly Common Fund, only 5% of the Common Fund goes to MPs as MP’s share, and if they take 5% out of GHc 5.7 billion, that amounts to about GHS 285 million. How can GHc 285 million procure an equipment that costs billions of Ghana cedis? That is not possible. Apart from this, the MPs share of the Common Fund has been released to the MPs first, and the second quarter has been done. So how can the money that has been released to MPs again been used to procure this equipment? This forehood is what it is known for, it cannot be fact”.

He said the government of Ghana did not count money to go and procure the equipment, rather “we issue what we called treasury bills to the contractor for the contractor to use the treasury bill to raise the funding from the banks. So how can it be true that the government collected monies meant for Members of Parliament and based on their instructions the government used that monies to procure this equipment”.
He thus urged the general public to disregard the opposition MPs’ claims.

Dr. Amin said President Nana Akufo Addo is intended to ensure that all the MMDAs and rural community across the country have a decent road infrastructure, hence the DRIP project.

He said the District Roads Improvement Programme (DRIP) will have a transformative impact on the Ghana road network, adding the program will also provide essential infrastructure to all MMDAs promoting equitable growth and open new opportunities for economic and social advancement across the country.

Story By: Alhassan Yakubu |www.diamondfmonline.com |Ghana.