Govt hiding GH¢1.3bn budget for AICC, embassies from IMF – Ablakwa

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has accused the government of hiding the €116 million (GH¢1.3 billion) allocation for the reconstruction of the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) and the opening of new embassies in Jamaica and Mexico from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Mr Ablakwa in an interview on Eyewitness News described the €116 million allocation as unconscionable adding that the government should not be pursuing fanciful projects at such a critical time when the economy is struggling.

“We do not think this can be a priority at this time. At the meeting, we asked the reps from the Ministry of Finance, if the IMF had seen this project, and they said no. They were now in the process of going through the project assessment and approval phase and, they are yet to get the green light from the IMF.

“So it tells you that this is a project that they are even hiding from key stakeholders including the IMF which we are clear in our minds that they won’t approve a project like this. A country that is insolvent, a country that has defaulted, a country that is doing debt restructuring and then this is your priority project? I mean what is wrong with us? Is the government jinxed,” Okudzeto Ablakwa told host Umaru Sanda Amadu.

Mr Ablakwa added that the Minority will not support the approval of the budget estimate of over two billion Ghana Cedis for the Finance Ministry for the year 2023.

He said the Minority raised concerns about the allocation of one billion Ghana Cedis for resource mobilisation by the Ministry of Finance.

He said until the Ministry provides the needed details on the essence of the allocation for resource mobilisation, the Minority will not support the dubious allocation.