By Elsie Appiah-Osei,
Accra, Dec 18, GNA – The Minority caucus in Parliament has called for an immediate suspension of an alleged 10-year contract between the Ministry of Finance and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) for revenue assurance services.
Mr John Jinapor, the Ranking Member on the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament has therefore called for a probe by the minority caucus to investigate to prevent mismanagement.
At a Press Conference in Parliament on Monday, he described the contract as a “rip-off” and a “burden on taxpayers” designed to allegedly enrich “greedy politicians.”
“…We do not believe that there is value for money, this contract is a rip-off, this contract only ends up filling the pockets of greedy politicians and individuals.
“We cannot allow the taxpayer to be burdened with such unnecessary contracts that only go a long way to fill the pockets of individuals, so we would advise, that immediately, that contract should be suspended pending a parliamentary investigation. When we go into it and find out that all those allegations are true, we will ensure that this contract is abrogated,” Mr Jinapor said.
He also alleged a potential stall in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due to Ghana’s failure to service its external debts.
Meanwhile, according to reports, the IMF board meeting to consider the second tranche of a crucial $3 billion credit facility had been delayed until January 11, 2024.
Mr Jinapor therefore told the media the alleged delay could seriously jeopardize the hard-won economic gains the government had achieved.
GNA