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Finance Minister deceived Parliament on public debt

The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Mr James Avedzi has accused the Minister of Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta of deceiving Parliament on the country’s debt as at December 2016.

The 2017 budget statement, which was presented to Parliament, indicates that the country’s debt as at December 2016 stood at GH¢122 billion, but the Controller and Accountant General (CAG) in its 2016 report on the consolidated fund reported that the debt stood at GH¢120 billion.

While pointing out the discrepancies in the figures to Deputy Minister of Finance, Ms Abena Osei Asare when she appeared before the committee, Mr Avedzi accused Mr Ofori-Atta for deliberately deceiving the House.

“The accounts of the Controller and Accountant General confirmed GH¢120 billion and the auditor also verified and confirmed that figure. My question is, why did your minister say GH¢122billion when the actual debt was GH¢120 billion?”


Aug. 21, 2018


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