The World Bank has confirmed that the administration of President Akufo-Addo made effective use of the funding it received from the Bank to assist in containing the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease outbreak.
The World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, Pierre Frank Laporte, speaking to the press, revealed that the World Bank had held Ghana accountable by reviewing all relevant paperwork and receipts to determine how the funds were used.
“We know each and every dollar that is spent and accounted for. We
have done the necessary audits. There are always a few things here and there and some documentation that needs to be followed,” he said.
Pierre Frank Laporte added that because of these precautions, his organization is very satisfied that its resources were used in accordance with the applicable procurement requirements.
However, the government has not spent all the World Bank COVID-19 relief funds it received to combat the virus.
“All the funds for COVID-19 were not spent. There were immediate things to be spent on, but there was also construction and procurement of equipment. We don’t feel that our resources have not been properly spent,” he explained.
His remarks come at a time when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration is under fire for allegedly misusing COVID-19 funds.
Former President John Mahama, delivering a speech at the 24th African Business Conference organized by the Harvard Business School in April this year, accused President Akufo-Addo of channelling some GH¢33 billion earmarked to offset the pandemic’s grave implications into his 2020 re-election bid.
For this reason, Mr Mahama believes the said amount is yet to be accounted for.
“Ghana’s fate was easy to predict with the cavalier handling of the economy by the current administration. We went into the pandemic without adequate buffers, and have emerged with a terribly battered economy,” he said.
“To make matters worse, the pandemic windfall of over GH¢33billion, which could have cushioned the economy, remains unaudited and is believed to have been used largely in the quest to win the 2020 elections at all cost,” the former President explained.
In 2020, the World Bank provided $100 million to Ghana to assist the country in tackling the pandemic.
This financing package included $35 million in emergency support to help the country provide improved response systems.
In addition to the emergency facility, a $65 million contingency emergency response component was triggered by the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development Project (GARID) to support critical activities such as laboratory equipment and chemicals, essential medical equipment and supplies, including test kits and personal protection equipment.
In June 2022, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, in his address to Parliament on Wednesday, June 22, said an amount of GH¢11.16 billion was allocated for expenditures related to COVID-19, however, GH¢12.04 billion has been expended so far.
Source: The Independent Ghana