Government has rejected claims by the Minority in Parliament that it has misapplied the $1billion Eurobond.
According to government, the proceeds from the Bond issue are in designated government accounts with the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and are still part of government deposits at the central bank.
[contextly_sidebar id=”CN9LaHjabEhDGwn9gNxbqDvCxMuKEuTC”]This follows accusation by the Minority in Parliament that government has misapplied the proceeds from the bond hence, the inconsistencies in government’s explanation on how it spent the money.
The Minority at a press conference called for a Parliamentary inquiry into the matter to ascertain the truth.
However, a press release signed by a Deputy Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson said the proceeds from the Bond issue was to be used for fund capital expenditure (Capex) projects, refinance short term expensive government domestic debt and counterpart funding, per the approval of Parliament.
“This treatment has nothing to do with the utilization of the Eurobond proceeds and it also does not mean that the proceeds have been misapplied,” the statement added.
Details of how the proceeds have been utilized so far:
i. An amount of US$200 million was planned to be used for short-term debt re-financing. Of this amount, a total disbursement of US$64,993,254.06 was transferred to pay for the maturing 3-year Government Bond totalling GH¢200 million on 15th October, 2014. Thus, leaving a balance of US$135.01 million on this item.
ii. Secondly an amount of US$250 million was planned to be used for Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) Account. As at 24th October, 2014 the total amount had been transferred into the GIIF Account as a Seed Capital for the Scheme which will be commissioned in early 2015.
iii. Thirdly, an amount of US$250 million was planned to be used to fund capital expenditure projects. As at today, a total of US$114.95 million has been used to pay for various projects, leaving a balance of US$135.05 million.
iv. Finally, an amount of US$288.71 million was planned for Counterpart Funding. Nothing has been utilised so far, under this component.
Click on link below to read how the Eurobond has been utilized by government
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By: Godwin Allotey Akweiteh/citifmonline.com/Ghana