Government has made savings of GH¢2.75 billion in the economy by reviewing contracts that were either sole-sourced or procured through restrictive tender for the last 31 months, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta has told parliament.
The overall figure breaks down to GH¢800 million in 2017, GH¢1.1 billion in 2018, and GH¢1.085 billion in 2019.
“Candidate Akufo-Addo promised to protect the public purse and that is exactly what we have been doing at the Treasury,” Mr Ofori Atta said while presenting to parliament the 2019 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review and Supplementary Estimates.
He added:”Mr Speaker, permit me to compare these savings made by the Public
Procurement Authority under this administration to what happened under the
previous one, even though more contracts were awarded through sole
sourcing and restrictive tender annually than any year under this government.
In 2013 savings registered was zero cedis. In 2014, again, savings made
amounted to zero cedis. In 2015, savings made totalled zero cedis. In 2016,
again the PPA made zero cedis in savings. When it comes to how taxpayers’
monies have been managed, the facts and figures, Mr Speaker, speak loudly.
We believe it is very important on days like this we show to the people of Ghana that this government, their government, the Akufo-Addo government, the New Patriotic Party government, your government spends the taxes you pay for your benefit and for the benefit of the collective. This is because we consider the social contract between government and the people as a sacred covenant.”
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According to Mr. Ofori Atta, government has been able to entrench fiscal discipline through the strategic allocation of resources, efficiency in the use of public funds, as well
as enhancing transparency and accountability in the management of the
public purse.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta is seeking the approval of Parliament to enable him spend additional GH₵6,370,925.82 for the 2019 Financial Year.
This was captured in the Order Paper moved for the Motion for the approval of the said amount as Supplementary Estimate of the Government of Ghana for the year under review.
The Order Paper is a daily publication which lists the Business of Parliament for the day’s sitting.
In November 2018, the Finance Minister requested Parliament’s approval for the government to spend a total of GH₵73.4billion in 2019.
The total expenditure estimate, which is inclusive of clearance of arrears is equivalent to 21.3% of total economic output measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The 2019 estimate as presented was 27% higher than what was projected for 2018.
Should Mr. Ofori-Atta’s request be granted, it means he will be spending about GH₵80billion for the 2019 Financial Year, about GH₵17.7billion higher than the previous year.
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Source: www.Kasapafmonline.com
