Finance Ministry, PIAC to iron out matters relating to Ghana’s oil cash

Finance Minister-nominee, Ken Ofori-Atta says the Ministry will meet with the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) to resolve grievances concerning government’s utilization of the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA).

He said the meeting will take place after the Easter holidays.

Appearing before the Appointments Committee for the second part of his vetting, Mr. Ofori-Atta said PIAC in a report accused the Ministry of failing to provide it with information on how government spent the country’s oil revenue under the ABFA for four years.

He said in its recommendations, it called on Parliament to bring its oversight mandate to bear on the Ministry of Finance.

The report said the Ministry’s persistent failure for the fourth time to provide half-year data on ABFA utilization is not only adversely affecting the work of the Committee, but also eroding gains in the fight for transparency and accountability in the management and use of Ghana’s petroleum revenues for the benefit of citizens.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ofori-Atta had earlier said the delay in providing PIAC with data on how the government expended the said funds does not amount to corruption.

He said they have had a series of meetings with PIAC to try and reconcile these numbers and assured Parliament that this is not tantamount to any type of corruption.