In accordance to the Public financial management Act and Article 181 of the constitution, Parliament has ordered the Finance Minister, Hon. Ken Ofori Atta to furnish the House with information regarding the issuance of the 2.25 billion dollars bond within a week.

Invoking a half-hour motion for the first time in the history of Ghana’s parliament Wednesday, the Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu requested the House to summon the Finance Minister for better clarification and documentation to the above mentioned bond.

The order which is at the behest of the Minority, was with a request for the full complement of documentation related to the issuance, the participants, the utilization of proceeds and the currency in which the bond was settled.

The Minority have also accused the minister of conflict of interest in the deal.

According to the Minority, because the House approved the Appropriation Bill, any government expenditure in relation to that must come to Parliament.

The Majority leader Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu who seconded the motion, added that, the move will help bring a finality to the never ending controversy over the bond.

The Minority Chief Whip Muntaka Mubarak had earlier said, the half-hour motion would be moved to afford the House the opportunity to debate the matter and subsequently seek answers from the finance minister.

“We’ve had a gentlemanly agreement to move a half hour motion to get the finance minister to answer the questions that is on our minds, what are the issues around it, how was it disbursed and procured. The half hour motion will  provide all of us the opportunity to debate it in Parliament”.

Due to this, the Speaker of Parliament Rt.Hon Aaron Mike Oquaye subsequently ordered the Minister of Finance to appear before the House within the assigned time to address the concerns of the Minority.

The Finance Minister is therefore expected to respond to the motion within one week.

Story: Blessing Roselyn Boateng

 

Exclusively Newslinegh