Finance Ministry denies GH¢403.7m ABFA funds ‘missing’

The Ministry of Finance has set the record straight on recent media reports that suggested it could not account for GH¢403.7 million petroleum revenues specifically the ABFA funds.

The Ministry said the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), 2015, (Act 893), has clear provisions and arrangements for expending the ABFA.

“The ABFA received in 2017 was GH¢733.2 million. Of this amount, GH¢329.5 million was used to pay for projects. An amount of GH¢403.7 million was transferred into the Treasury Main Account in 2017.

This transfer is in line with the provisions of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in Section 46 of the Public Financial Management Act (PFMA), 2016, (Act 921), that requires that all government balances should be part of TSA,” a press statement from the Ministry said.

Read the full statement below:

RESPONSE TO THE GHANAIAN TIMES PUBLICATION

Accra, 10th October 2018 – We refer to a publication in the Ghanaian Times on Monday 8th October 2018 with regard to the use of petroleum revenues, specifically the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA). In a statement attributed to the Coordinator of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), the Ghanaian Times asserts that the Ministry of Finance could not account for GH¢403.7 million ABFA funds. This assertion is inaccurate and we wish to respond as follows:
1.    The ABFA received in 2017 was GH¢733.2 million. Of this amount, GH¢329.5 million was used to pay for projects. An amount of GH¢403.7 million was transferred into the Treasury Main Account in 2017. This transfer is in line with the provisions of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in Section 46 of the Public Financial Management Act (PFMA), 2016, (Act 921), that requires that all government balances should be part of TSA.

2.    The rationale is to avoid government cash balances sitting in various accounts whiles government borrows at expensive rates to finance important government expenditures.

3.    The Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), 2015, (Act 893), has clear provisions and arrangements for expending the ABFA.

4.    Government is committed, in light of the PRMA, to apply these funds to expenditures permitted under the law and can confirm that ABFA funds have not been wrongly applied.

5.    We hope that this clarifies the concerns raised by PIAC. The Ministry is grateful for their vigilance and urges them to continue to partner the government in ensuring that scarce petroleum revenues are applied in the best interest of the economy.

source: Joy Business