COVID Expenditure: Minority renews probe calls after World Bank boss disclosure

The Minority in Parliament has resurrected its demand for a bipartisan probe into Covid funds following revelation from the World bank country director that Ghana was given $260million to fight the pandemic.

Addressing the media ranking member for the health committee Kwabena Mintah Akandoh argued government has not disclosed the said money in both the 2021 and 2022 budget.

The Juaboso MP argued government has not been transparent in the spending of COVID-19 funds.

“We heard the World Bank country director indicating that Ghana has been given not less than $560million dollars to fight COVID-19. It’s one of the reasons we think that the receipt and expenditure has not been transparent it’s been very opaque. We on the Minority side have filed a private member motion demanding a bipartisan probe into the expenditure.

“We have combed through the 2021 and 2022 budgets if we what the country director said is anything to go by then we have a serious problem at hand because the money received so far doesn’t tally with what has been indicated by the country director,” he told the media in Parliament Tuesday.

The World Bank Country Director, Pierre Frank Laporte has revealed that the World Bank had provided the government of Ghana $430 million to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to him, the money was initially directed at the various campaigns that sought to inform and educate Ghanaians on the Covid-19 and its safety protocols.

“We’ve provided $430 million to Ghana to fight Covid. And this includes different activities including initially the communication campaign, the sensitization campaign, equipping labs, equipping new facilities to receive patients, to treat patients,” he said on Joy News.