$65 million GARID fund was misused – Minority Leader

Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minority Leader of Parliament, expressed concerns that $65 million out of the $200 million set aside for the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development Project (GARID) was not efficiently used for its intended purpose.

Speaking in an interview on Accra-based Citi TV and monitored by GhanaWeb Business, the Minority Leader explained that the funds earmarked for COVID-19 expenditure were misappropriated.

The Minority Leader criticized the Ministry of Works and Housing for failing to provide a detailed account of the expenditure to Parliament.

He said, “Someone somewhere is trying to distort the facts, but there’s a need for us to correct the records and let Ghanaians be aware of what exactly the situation is. So far, they have drawn down almost $180 million out of the $200 million loan. Unfortunately, even though they have drawn down almost $180 million, the amount has been misappropriated or misapplied.

“For example, $65 million of the GARID loan that was supposed to be used for addressing floods was misapplied for COVID-19 expenditure. Yet, we don’t have the breakdown of the COVID-19 expenditure. We were told that unlike a typical World Bank facility, where a project implementation unit would have been established and payments made directly to the contractors, in this case, the amount was paid into the Ministry of Works and Housing’s account, and the Ministry has failed to account to Parliament how much money they have spent from that account.”

Dr. Ato Forson reminded the House that a report from officers tasked with inspecting work done on the Odaw River revealed that no work was done at the site, even after Parliament had been informed that $32 million was used for the dredging.

“Only $32 million was the amount they could account for, which for us was concerning. Another $43 million was supposedly used to dredge the Odaw River. When our team went to the site, it was obvious that nothing of the sort had been done. Some of the contractors our team spoke to at the site said they were asked to be there just last week, even though they had been paid for mobilization years ago,” he said.

“We had serious concerns, and until the government or Ministry accounts for how they have used the money, there is no way we are going to approve additional loans.”

EAN/MA

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