Accra, March 02, GNA- The COVID-19 Trust Fund has disbursed over GH₵47.5 millions of funds received from the public over the last 21 months with a balance of GH₵12.3 million as of December 31, 2021.
A breakdown of disbursement showed that COVID-19 Private Sector Fund was the largest recipient with GH₵10.3 million transferred to the fund and GH₵6.8 million separately going into the construction of infectious disease centre initiated under the Private Sector Fund.
About GH GH₵7.6 million was used to procure Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during the reopening of tertiary institutions, GH₵5.7 million to procure laboratory supplies for the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and GH₵2.5 million to the National Commission for Civic Education for sensitisation.
The ARB APEX Bank, Verterinary Service Department and the Ghana Police Service, respectively received GH₵3.96 million, GH₵1.9 million and GH₵1 million while GH₵2.5 million was used to procure and sew PPE for distribution.
Dr William Collins Asare, the Administrator of the Trust Fund released a statement of account for the entity at a public Forum held under the theme, “The Accountability Gap in the Covid Responses of Ghana.”
He indicated that the Trust Fund had received a total of about GH₵59.8 million with about GH₵10 million in kind and “most of the cash that we received came within the first four months.”
Mr James Klutse Avedzi, Member of Parliament for Ketu North, the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, noted that since Ghana recorded its first case of COVID-19 in 2020, about GH₵1.2 billion of the Contingency Fund was released by Parliament as requested by the finance ministry.
The government, he said, further secured other funds from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank while Parliament approved GH11.16 billion during the mid-year budget review and “in 2021, additional allocation for GH4. 5 billion was made in the budget”.
Mr Avedzi said COVID-19 expenditure, which was cross-sectorial and at different level of the governance structure, needed to be audited as a project by the Auditor General to ensure proper accountability.
“The Auditor General under the powers granted it by Article 187(2) have to audit the expenditure of government in relation to COVID-19” he stressed.
Mr Joseph Winful, Chair of the Economic Governance Platform (EGP), said effective financial resource management was a vital element to democracy and patriotism, adding that, “I believe if we do that, we will be satisfying the citizens of Ghana.”
GNA