The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has addressed concerns regarding the disbursement of $12 million for the Pwalugu Irrigation Project, despite limited visible progress.
The Central Bank clarified that the payment to contractors, MS Power China International Group Limited, was made based on government authorization.
The clarification comes after questions were raised during a Public Accounts Committee meeting about the rationale behind the payment, sparking public concern.
Bernard Otabil, the Director of Communication at the Bank of Ghana, explained in an exclusive interview with Citi News that the Bank’s role as a custodian of government accounts requires it to execute authorized transactions within its mandate.
“We are the Central Bank, we are actually the chief cashiers of the government and we also hold all governments accounts. So, we would act on instructions that have been given to us. Once that approval has been sought and the project is started, then you would also have the role of the ministry of finance at some point, coming in to also look at what has been submitted and whether it is actually in line with what has been submitted with the contract that has been solely specified and when satisfied with the supporting documents that need to be presented.”
“But finally, you will also have the Controller and Accountant General coming in and making that authorization for payment to be made and that comes to us.”
“We will then go ahead to make the payment if the account is fully funded and therefore there will not be any form of disclosure on our part because it is the same. It is not different from any of the banking services that you are very much used to. In our unique position, we deal with the government and most of all the MDAs, but largely we are on the government’s side, we are the bankers of the government. The government withdraws on its own account, let’s make that clear and nobody can issue a cheque on anybody’s account.”