Parliament to begin probe of COVID-19 funds from February 15

The minority leader in parliament has said that the house is expected to commence its probe into COVID-19 expenditure February, 15 2023.

According to Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the COVID-19 probe will be made public.

This was revealed by Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson when the leadership from both sides of the house met the press today, Wednesday, 8 February 2023, to outline some activities of the first meeting of the third session of parliament which began on Tuesday, 7 February 2023.

In March 2022, the minority had been pushing for a probe into COVID-19 expenditure.

It follows the viral circulation of an audiotape on social media in which a voice believed to be that of the Northern Regional Vice-Chairperson of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ms Felicia Tetteh, is heard talking about how COVID funds were disbursed to the leadership of the party and some candidates.

The then Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu told journalists at a press conference on Tuesday, 31 May 2022 that their persistent calls for a probe have been vindicated by the leaked audiotape.

The Tamale South MP said it “makes our call for an investigation of the highly anomalous COVID expenditures to be probed.”

He said the expenditure must be “probed by parliament or by the Auditor-General, or, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, [if he] has any respect for the tenets and values of accountability and transparency, [must] authorise a public enquiry into how the over GHS19 billion was disbursed and utilised.”

“We now understand how a motion to probe COVID by an institution, which should be the most fundamental institution and guardian of the public purse, Parliament, will dismiss the motion even at birth, by actors of the New Patriotic Party political administration.”



NYA/WA