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Two parliamentary committees have been asked to look into the government's COVID-19 expenditures by the Speaker of the House, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin.
They will also look at how the government used the COVID-19 monies that it received.
In the first week of the House's next sitting in October of this year, the committees on Finance and Health will present their report to the House.
When the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, went before the House to explain for how COVID-19 funding had been spent, Mr. Bagbin issued the instruction on the House Floor of Parliament yesterday.
The Minority requested an ad hoc committee to look into how the government used COVID-19 monies, and the Speaker's decision was taken in response.
Majority and minority clash
The Majority, led by its Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, argued that existing parliamentary committees rather than a special committee could be tasked with looking into the matter. The Minority, led by its Leader Haruna Iddrisu, pushed for the formation of an ad-hoc committee to look into COVID-19 expenditure.
The Speaker declared that additional investigation and inquiry into how COVID-19 money were used were required in light of the remarks made by members of both parties of the House.
According to him, the Finance Minister only provided a general overview of the expenses and that's why Parliament needed to invite the COVID-19 Trust Fund and other MDAs to present more thorough reports of how the funds they received to fight the pandemic were used.
Justification in law
The Speaker outlined how the Finance Minister reacted to requests from Parliament to provide a declaration in accordance with Standing Order 70 of the House of Representatives outlining how the monies were used.
The Speaker argued that Article 103 (3) of the 1992 Constitution was not the same as the duties of the Auditor General, notwithstanding the majority's assertion that the Auditor General would examine the books of all organisations that received and used COVID-19 monies.
He asserted that there was a distinction between audits carried out by the Auditor General and investigations and inquiries into the operations and administration of the MDAs.
"There is a distinction, therefore we cannot claim that Parliament is prohibited from conducting an investigation and inquiry into the utilisation of COVID-19 monies since the Auditor General is going to examine the accounts of the MDAs on the COVID-19 spending," Mr. Bagbin said.
On that front, he said that Parliament was mandated to look into how the monies were used.
No special committee, why?
Regarding the Minority's demands that Parliament establish an ad hoc committee to look into the problem, Mr. Bagbin said that there were existing parliamentary committees with the authority to do so.
He said that just though the epidemic claimed some lives did not imply that no effort had been done in the nation.
The money was used "efficiently, effectively, and cheaply," he added, adding that while some work had already been done, it did not excuse us from carrying out our duties.
He continued, "It is crucial that we do that to soothe the anxieties of the Ghanaian people.
According to Mr. Bagbin, it is in the government's, the Finance Minister's, and the Finance Ministry's best interests to keep the public aware about the taxes and money collected on their behalf.
He asserted that there was no witch-hunt in such cases and that they were one of the most useful instruments for