After several weeks of going back and forth with the cost of the expenditure on the foreign travels by President Akufo-Addo, Finance Minister says he is not best placed to respond to the questions being asked.
Appearing before Parliament on Thursday, July 21, 2021, he said his Ministry was not responsible to answer such questions.
The North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, some weeks ago filed two urgent questions on the use of a private jet for the trips.
He had also accused the Majority side of the House of shielding the Finance Minister from answering his question after the earlier published dates were postponed on several occasions.
But in his response today, the Minister said in line with the 2021 budget implementation instructions, the Finance Ministry did not release any funds to the Chief of Staff, specifically for the President’s trip to France, Belgium and South Africa.
He said the current practice is that the Ministry of Finance releases quarterly funds to the Heads of Department, and in this case, the Office of Government Machinery, Chief of Staff, for all the oep0rational activities of the Office.
To facilitate the safe coordination of the President’s travels, domestic and foreign, the office of Government Machinery and National Security Secretariat work together to achieve this, he explained.
Ken Ofori-Atta added that the President’s domestic and international travels are matters to do with National Security and the National Security Minister is best placed to furnish the House with the details needed.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com
