The Minority in Parliament has dismissed claims by the Vice-President, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia that the immediate past NDC-led government failed to disclose the existence of a certain liability worth GHC7 billion.
Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Cassel Ato Forson who addressed a press conference Wednesday afternoon explained that the issue raised by Dr. Bawumia is a result of a major initiative or reform on government contracts and expenditures which is part of the GIFMIS project that the new administration is expected to continue implementing.
The framework of the GIFMIS project, he noted, is covered in the new Public Financial Management (PFM) Act, under new administration to legislate and implement the PFM Regulations.
He said in the past government arrears have been defined as only 3-to-6 months of outstanding certificates submitted to the Ministry of Finance for work done by contractors, despite the fact that the infrastructure Ministries, in particular, may have ongoing projects that will extend beyond the 3-to-6 months or even one fiscal year.
These multi-year commitments include roads, energy projects, housing projects, sea defense projects, railway projects among many others.
“What the ministry of finance under President Mahama started doing was to create a contract data base for all MDA’s showing the following; the total contract sum and variations; the amount of contract certified; and the amount paid to date, and the outstanding claim”, he noted.
