The Minister of Finance, Seth Terkper on Thursday answered urgent questions in Parliament on why his Ministry has delayed statutory payments to state agencies.
In his answers to the House, the Minister defended his Ministry’s decision to hold off tax resources from the various statutory funds explaining that paying off the arrears could trigger more crippling problems for the already ailing economy.
His comments follows an Accra Court order instructing the state to pay monies owed to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) after a suit filed by Richard Nyamah, a Ghanaian citizen.
Addressing Thursday’s sitting of Parliament, Mr. Terkper said “the country’s fiscal position face physical challenges on account of global and domestic factors which also affected some of our [government] payments including statutory obligations.”
“While we recognize our statutory payment obligations, government was confronted with practical problems associated with strikes and disruptions in the smooth running of the economy, “the Minister further clarified.
But in a rebuttal, the Member of Parliament for the Obuasi West Constituency, Kwaku Kwarteng dismissed the Minister’s reasons for the delay in the payments.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Kwarteng explained that government is cash-strapped because it spent state resources wrongfully.
“If you listen to the Minister, the basic point he made was that the economy was in trouble …He therefore decided to take the money that the law had not permitted him to touch.”
He therefore asked that the country’s law be amended to address discrepancies associated with the payment of statutory funds to various agencies. “We should amend the law, then we will live as civilized people,” the MP insisted.
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana