The Ministry of Finance has rebuffed reports suggesting that the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, inappropriately withdrew GH¢77 million from the Contingency Vault for football and spent ₵27.9 million on the Black Stars. The Ministry stated that these allegations are baseless and inaccurate.
The Ministry clarified that the Contingency Vault (vote) is an integral part of the Appropriation Bill passed by Parliament annually to support the implementation of national budgets. It does not require additional approval from Parliament to access it and enables the government to meet critical expenditure challenges.
In contrast, the Contingency Fund, created by Article 177 of the 1992 Constitution and reiterated by Section 36 of the PFM Act (2016) Act 921, is set up with the approval of Parliament to cover unforeseen expenditure for which no allocation exists in the Annual Appropriation.
The Ministry emphasized that the utilization of the Contingency Fund, such as during the Covid-19 pandemic, demonstrates a clear distinction between the Contingency Vote and the Contingency Fund. It also clarified that the public Finance architecture does not include any nomenclature as Contingency Vault.
The purpose of this statement was to address and correct any misleading information in the media, ensuring the public is accurately informed about the financial processes and mechanisms in place within the Ministry of Finance.
