The Leader of the Minority in Parliament Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has objected to the government’s recent action of borrowing GH¢7 billion from the treasury bills market to settle contractor payments that were not included in its budgetary allocations.
This move, according to the Minority members, represents a concerning trend of expanding expenditure beyond budget limits for political reasons, further aggravating the depreciation of the Cedi against the dollar.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, May 15, Minority Leader Dr Cassiel Ato Forson criticised the government’s spending practices, labelling them as reckless, and called for a stricter fiscal discipline.
Dr. Ato Forson, a former Deputy Finance Minister, highlighted the timing of these expenditures, emphasising that they occur at a juncture when Ghanaians are advocating for the government to curtail spending.
“They are on an expenditure spree, spending money as if there is no tomorrow. In the last few days, we are aware that they have paid approximately GH¢7 billion to contractors, off-budget contractors, off-budget expenditures, GH¢7 billion.”
“They borrowed from the T-Bill market, so they borrowed the money from ordinary Ghanaians then they paid this money to these contractors, and the contractors are also not certain so they have engaged in currency substitution.”
“The contractors got cedis and went and changed it into US dollars and kept the money because of a lack of confidence in the economy.”
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Source: myjoyonline.com