Claims that the government has already spent around GH11 billion on the Accra-Kumasi Motorway project, even though work has not yet begun, have been refuted by the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD).
This comes after allegations surfaced on social media that the project’s allocated monies had already been spent.
The Department claimed in a statement on Thursday, July 16, that the allegations stemmed from “a misunderstanding of Government accounting procedures.”
“The CAGD wishes to emphasise that these funds have not been paid to any contractor or spent on construction works. They remain in the dedicated Bank of Ghana account pending project execution,” according to the statement.
The Department claims that once Parliament approved the concession and the government designated earnings from the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) and mining royalties in the 2025 Budget for the project, the money was moved from the Consolidated Fund into a specific Bank of Ghana account.
According to the CAGD, Accra-Kumasi Motorway Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle created by the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) and categorised as a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE), is in charge of implementing the Accra-Kumasi Motorway.
It stated that transfers from the Consolidated Fund to organisations outside the Central Government accounting framework are documented as revenue in the receiving institution’s books and expenditure in the Central Government’s books under government accounting regulations.
“This is a standard accounting treatment and does not mean the receiving entity has spent the funds,” the Department stated.
“It is therefore incorrect to conclude that because the transfer appears as expenditure in the accounts of Central Government, the funds have already been spent on the construction of the Accra-Kumasi Expressway,” the statement continued.
The Department additionally explained that the Ghana Armed Forces’ continuing right-of-way clearing is not being funded by the designated funds and is a distinct preparation effort.
Source: newsthemegh.com