The Government has so far spent GH₵5.24 million on the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Ghana, the Ministry of Finance has announced.
A deputy Minister for Finance, Kwaku Kwarteng, who briefed Parliament over the issue, said an amount of GH₵5.26million was released for the 60th Anniversary celebrations out of which the total expenditure came to GH₵5.24 million.
This was made up of GH₵3.1million from Government of Ghana sources of funding and GH₵2.16 million from the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF).
GH₵3.0 million of the total amount was disbursed to the Office of the Chief of Staff at the Ghana @ 60 Secretariat whilst GH₵100,000.00 and GH₵2.16 million went to the ten (10) Regional Coordinating Councils and 216 District Assemblies respectively.
Actual amount spend by the Ghana @ 60 Secretariat, according Mr. Kwarteng, is GH₵2.98million out of the release from the Government of Ghana Sources.
An amount of GH₵2.16 million was also spent by the 216 District Assemblies whilst GH₵100,000 was spent by the 10 Regional Coordinating Councils.
Mr. Kwarteng’s response follows a question that was posed to him by the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Juaboso, Kwabena Minta Akandoh, as to “how much has the nation spent so far on the 60th Independence celebration.”
Mr. Kwarteng’s comments is in contradiction to the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s statement that the cost on event which is estimated at GH₵20 million will be borne by the corporate sector.
When asked how much the Committee received from the private sector, Mr. Kwarteng stated that; “ That is not our remit, but we will endeavor to provide that information to the House.”
Ghana turned 60 years on March 6, 2017 and given the landmark independence celebration, a special committee called “Ghana: 60 Years On” was outdoored to oversee the celebration.
The theme for the celebration was “Mobilizing for Ghana’s future.”
In connection to the celebration, the Government released GH₵10,000 each to the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), to facilitate activities for the commemoration of the event.
The celebration has already seen the inauguration of a Presidential Museum, a legacy project to celebrate Ghana’s icons and national heroes.
