According to an economist, Dr. Adu Owosu Sarkodie, the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta must also explain how the money obtained by the Covid-19 Trust Fund was also used.
According to Dr. Sarkodie, the Trust Fund was a component of the Covid expenditure and needed to be accounted for.
"The Trust Fund must be taken into consideration. It is a component of it, he remarked on TV3's Saturday, June 25 Key Points.
"You cannot account for all of the monies without mentioning the Trust Fund," he continued. If so, the MMDAs are required to come before the Committee and give an explanation.
On Wednesday, June 22, Alban Bagbin, Speaker of the House, ordered the Finance and Health Committees to inquire more on the Covid-19 funding. despite the breakdown provided by Mr. Ofori-Atta in the House, usage.
This came after the Minority voiced its displeasure with the Finance Minister's responsibility.
"The directive is for the Committee on Finance, supported by the Committee on Health, to investigate and inquire further into the application and utilisation of all the revenues received, referred to as the Covid-19 fund and to report to the House," Mr. Bagbin said following the discussion of the Finance Minister's presentation.
I will want the report to be given by the first month of our next meeting because we are going on break and because of the other meetings' agendas. The first gathering will take place in October.
The House will be in break by the 27th of this month, but the committee will require more time to complete its work than just these few weeks."
The Finance Minister explained to Parliament how the money was used, stating that "200 million was made available for free water and electricity for lifeline users, out of which 143 million were utilised" in the field of free water and energy for lifeline consumers.
He said, "Our response was courageous, decisive, and humane, but it has also been expensive. You may recall, Mr. Speaker, that on March 30, 2020, I informed Parliament about the financial impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on Ghana's economy following the deployment of the coronavirus vaccine.
"In addition, I mentioned that the extra request contained programme money of 19.3 billion from a variety of funding sources to support the budget both directly and indirectly at the presentation of the 2020 mid-year budget fiscal policy. On the spending side, 11.16 billion was budgeted for costs associated with Covid-19. The discrepancy of 8.14 billion pounds was intended to cover any deficit in income.
"In 2021, the budget programme calls for spending a total of 4.6 billion pounds on Covid-19-related costs. It is important to note that while the different Covid-19 initiatives and associated costs were carried out by the appropriate sector ministries and agencies, the Ministry of Finance mobilised the necessary financial resources.
However, the Minority requested the Speaker of the House to form an ad hoc committee.