A leaked confidential Government document available to Citi News has revealed that the GHc 3.6 million of Ghana’s oil revenue released for the controversial bus branding deal, was actually intended for the development of Ghana’s ailing railway sector.
[contextly_sidebar id=”Mh7ZZ3yMsLGfUigvL6J3jBrGIGLh6PeJ”]According to the document, the Ministry of Transport did not have the funds to pay Smarttys Management and Productions Limited for the branding, and thus reallocated the Annual Budget Funding (ABF) amount for the development of railway infrastructure to pay for the branding of the 116 buses.
The leaked document highlighted the fact the allocation was done with the approval of the Finance Ministry.
These documents also show that the Ministry of Transport did not have the funds to pay Smarttys and therefore, with the approval of the Ministry of Finance,the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) to support Railway Infrastructure Development was reallocated to make the payment to Smarttys.
The document is believed to be the Attorney General’s investigative report on the bus branding scandal which forced Dzifa Attivor to resign as Minister for Transport.
A section of the leaked document said, “these documents [the AG’s investigative report] also show that the ministry of Transport did not have the funds to pay Smarttys and therefore, with the approval of the Ministry of Finance, the Annual Budget funding Amount (ABFA) to support Railway Infrastructure Development was reallocated to make the payment to Smarttys.”
The document contains additional evidence that some state officials blatantly flouted the 1992 Constitution, the Public Procurement Act and a number of other laws that govern the use of public funds.
–
By Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana