Mr. Casiel Ato Forson, a former Deputy Minister of Finance, has warned Ghanaians that the government’s budget for the fiscal year 2021 would include more taxes.
“Ghanaians should expect more taxes in the budget,” the Ajumako Enyan Essiam lawmaker told TV3’s Nana Akua Mensah Aborampah on Friday March 12 minutes before the budget reading.
In the meantime, Madam Mona Quartey has requested that the Ministry of Finance provide data on the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA), a fund into which petroleum proceeds are allocated for government spending, to the Public Interest and Accountability Committee ahead of the budget statement (PIAC).
This comes after the ministry failed to release data on the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) to PIAC for the fourth time, preventing the organization from including their data in the compilation of its reports on petroleum revenue usage.
The ABFA is a statutory fund that is responsible for receiving oil revenue earmarked for government purposes.
The Petroleum Revenue Management Act, 2011, (Act 815) requires PIAC to publish two reports a year, a semiannual report and an annual report, on how petroleum revenue is used.
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Data on allocations made to institutions such as the Bank of Ghana, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) is expected to be submitted to PIAC.
However, the Finance Ministry struggled to do so for the fourth time, according to PIAC’s report for the first half of 2020.
This, according to PIAC, makes it impossible to function and frustrates the supposed transparency with which the oil money is supposed to be spent.
“The Ministry of Finance has failed to provide ABFA usage data for the compilation of PIAC reports for the fourth time.
“This makes reconciling disbursements and expenditures difficult, and it undermines the spirit of transparency envisioned in the PRMA,” PIAC said.
“To be honest, I am at a loss on that because the Ministry of Finance’s responsibility to PIAC is in the public interest, it is very important,” Ms Mona Quartey said in an interview with TV3’s Alfred Ocansey ahead of the budget presentation on Friday March 12. They must submit all necessary information to PIAC, including a check list, and they must do so in a timely manner.
The role of PIAC as a watchdog over our petroleum revenue funds is critical. It was modeled after the management of the Norwegian Petroleum Fund. There is no reason why the Ministry of Finance should not have released the details to PIAC because it ensures transparency and accountability. It’s cool if it’s late; given the current situation, anything can happen.”
SOURCE: ATLFMNEWSONLINE
