A number of financial issues, including that of the payment of judgement debts and failure by the Ministry of Finance to pay some releases would engage the attention of Parliament at next week’s sitting.
The House has scheduled Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta to appear before it on Thursday, July 4, 2019, to tell the nation how much the Government paid in judgment debt from January 2017 to date.
The Business Statement of the House, for next week-ending, July 4, 2019, which advertised the invitation, said on the same day, the Finance Minister would also answer the nation on why the Ministry of Finance failed to release to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) its appropriated funds for August to November 2018 and January to May 2019 to enable the Fund to meet its obligations.
Judgment debts involve decisions of courts directing payments to be made to a party in a court case, an Auditor General’s report released in 2010 named a businessman in Ghana for having been paid a judgment debt illegally in connection with the raising of funds to construct a stadium to host the CAN 2008 Nations Cup.
After several years of a legal tussle, the Supreme Court of Ghana recently gave the Attorney General’s office permission to sell properties belonging to the businessman, Alfred Woyome to offset the judgment debt.
Still on financial issues, the House would also query the Finance Minister, on why the Public Procurement Authority is charging company registration fee without parliamentary approval; and also, what has been the overall impact of reforms introduced by the Ghana Revenue Authority at nation’s port of entry in the revenue mobilisation drive of the Ministry.
Earlier in the week, the Minister of Communications is expected to be in the House, on Tuesday July 2, to answer a question that will be asked by Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, MP for Assin North on what measures the Ministry was putting in place to ensure user privacy protection amidst a report by the Wall Street Journal newspaper on July 6, 2018, that a million units of inexpensive smartphones sold in developing countries contain preloaded applications that harvest user data without their knowledge.
Members of Parliament may make statements on issues on national interest; and the presentation of papers and reports.
The House would continue with the consideration of the Vigilante and Related Offences Bill.
Source: GNA | Ghana]]>