The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has received extra 125,000 cedis as part of its budgetary allocation for 2014.
This brings total payments to the watchdog institution to 250,000 cedis for the year representing allocations to the first and second quarters.
But the Ministry of Finance is still in arrears of 250,000 cedis which is meant for the third and fourth quarter allocations.
Government has consistently failed to fully pay budgetary allocations to PIAC, which is currently without official accommodation.
The committee was on November 30th, 2014 kicked out of its office complex after the owner of the office complex failed to renew their tenancy agreement.
The non-profit policy institute, Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) is currently temporarily accommodating the committee.
Energy and research think-tank, Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) accused government of deliberately starving PIAC of funds to frustrate their work.
Speaking to Citi Business News the Coordinator for PIAC Isaac Dwamena said,” we have communication from our bankers that the second quarter allocation from the ministry has been paid into our account …it puts us in a better position to find a place for occupation as far as the secretariat is concerned’.
He lamented that the committee has huge backlog of commitments to meet.
“PIAC requires more than that quarter’s allocation because don’t forget that this is the fourth quarter and if we are now getting the allocation for the second quarter you can imagine the backlog of commitment that will have to be meet”. Dwamena stressed.
Meanwhile the Department for International Development of the British High Commission has offered to permanently accommodate the committee.
By: Rabiu Alhassan/citifmonline.com/Ghana