Gyan Baffour denies diverting GH1.5m from TOR levy account

Accra, Feb. 16, GNA - Professor Gyan Baffour, former Deputy Minister of Finance has denied an allegation that he authorised the release of GH¢1.5 million from the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Levy Account to the Ministry of Information and National Orientation.

Prof Baffour, Member of Parliament for Wenchi told a press conference at Parliament house that any person who claims knowledge that he had signed such a letter should produce the letter and publish it in the newspapers for all to see.

He said mischief makers could forge letterheads and even signatures to implicate otherwise innocent people.

Prof Baffour warned that any one who out of mischief forges his signature under any letter and publishes it, or uses any deceptive stratage= m intended to create any disaffection against him be it individual or group o= f individuals and the editor of that medium should be prepared to meet him in court. He said it was also alleged that the Auditor General's draft report on the accounts of the Ministry for 2008 suggested that he signed such a letter, adding that such a document should also be published.

He said the final report of the Auditor General was available.

Prof Baffour explained that if a Minister signed a letter for the payment of monies from the TOR Debt Recovery Levy to meet other government obligations other than servicing the debt, it could only be because there was no money in the relevant account from which the original payment would have come from.

If that path was chosen, that Minister or Officer would have done so i= n conformity with the cash management practice that prevailed in 2008. He said this cash management practice was what culminated into the treasury single Account System which permitted the use of funds from any account, dedicated or not for the payment of any government expenditure whe= n there was no money in the relevant account. The former minister said when funds flow into the relevant account, part or all is then used to replenish the account from which the initial funds were taken.

"It was like an internal borrowing arrangement," he said.

Prof Baffour said from 2004 and 2008 more than GH¢64.4 million was paid out of other sub-accounts of the consolidated fund to service the TOR debt when the receivables from the TOR recovery levy were not sufficient to meet payments due.

He said just as there was no impropriety paying the debt with more than GH¢64.4 million from other sub-accounts when the money in the TOR debt recovery levy account was not sufficient to effect payments due, so also would there have been no impropriety in the alleged payment of GH¢1.5 million from the TOR debt recovery levy to meet other government obligations for which there were no funds in the relevant sub-accounts.

Prof Baffour said anyone or group of people had the right to satisfy their constituency to consolidate their political gains but no one has the right to tarnish the image and undermine the hard won reputation of political opponents using falsehood.