The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has directed the Parliamentary Select Committees of Finance and Health to probe the receipts and expenditure of COVID-19 funds.
The directive stem from a heated debate between the Majority and Minority sides of the House after the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori -Atta, made a presentation to parliament on Wednesday on the application of the COVID-19 funds.
He said the probe would allow the public to know whether the funds were applied for the intended purpose.
Mr Bagbin said there were discrepancies between the figures presented on Wednesday and an earlier presentation made by the Finance Ministry on the same subject.
“Apart from the figures that our attention has been drawn to, between what he said today and earlier statements which have been documented, there is still the need for further investigation and enquiry into this matter,” he added.
Also, he urged the Committees to delve into the expenditure of the money the Minister released to Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including the funds of the National COVlD-19 Trust Fund and the Ghana Private Sector Covid-19 fund.
The Finance and Health Committees are expected to submit their reports to the House in the first week of October of this year.
Eva Frempon-Ntiamoah, ISD
