The rejection of reports that the government blatantly misapplied funds intended for the country’s fight against COVID-19 has been described as disappointing by the Minority in Parliament.
President Akufo-Addo has refuted allegations that Covid-19 funds were misused.
In its 2020 report on the government’s COVID-19 expenses, the Auditor General revealed that only 25% of the US$ 2.5 billion mobilised for the fight against the pandemic, or GH5.5 million, was spent on health.
According to the Auditor General’s audit report, the Information Ministry improperly compensated its employees GH151,500 for COVID-19 insurance while failing to deliver $81 million in government-paid vaccines.
The state is said to have spent US$607,419.02 out of a total of $4,049,460.12 on the purchase of 26 ambulances, but the vehicles were never delivered.
The remainder of the funds, according to the report, were spent on government programmes such as Free SHS and LEAP, among others.
However, the President claims that nothing wrong was done and that the funds intended for Covid were not misappropriated.
“The economic consequences of the pandemic have been devastating. It is precisely because the economic fallout from the pandemic was so widespread and long-lasting that it is important to show clearly that the COVID funds were not misused. It is critical that we do not lose the confidence of the people that a crisis that they were led to believe we were all in together was abused for personal gain,” the President said.
Minority Chief Whip, Kwame Governs Agbodza reacting said “I’m somehow extremely disappointed in the President who sought once again to even clear members of his government who are suspected of doing wrong things in the COVID-19 expenditure.
“It doesn’t lie in the mouth of the President to decide to become an auditor of his own government by pretending that nothing went wrong with the COVID expenditure. Mr. President you are not an auditor, leave that to the professionals to do,” Minority Chief Whip added.
By: Rainbowradioonlin.com/Ghana
