Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Ampem Nyarko has dismissed allegations by the Minority in Parliament that the government is misrepresenting the nature and purpose of a newly approved $360 million facility from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA).
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, July 2, Mr. Nyarko emphasized that the funds are intended as general budget support under Ghana’s 2025 national budget and not tied to any specific expenditure such as contractor payments.
“The facility is not a loan earmarked solely for paying road contractors or clearing arrears. It is budget support, which is meant to be added to the government's revenue pool. How the funds are allocated is ultimately a policy decision,” he explained.
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Parliament approved the financing agreement on Tuesday, July 1, as part of the Second Resilient Recovery Development Policy Financing. However, during the parliamentary debate, Ranking Member on the Committee on Economy and Development, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, accused the government of using ambiguous language to obscure the true nature of the facility. He suggested that the public was being misled into believing the transaction was not a loan.
In response, Mr. Nyarko rejected the assertion as false and politically motivated. He said attempts to compare the current administration’s use of the funds to decisions made during the Mahama era are misleading.
“Oppong Nkrumah is wrong to claim that President Mahama planned to use the facility to pay contractors and that we are merely continuing that. This is a general-purpose facility, and the government decided—through Cabinet—that it would prioritize the payment of arrears, including those owed to contractors,” he clarified.
He also pointed out that Ghana received the first tranche of $300 million under the same World Bank programme in 2024, and the current $360 million forms the second phase of the financing arrangement.
Mr. Nyarko reiterated the government’s commitment to transparency and fiscal responsibility, insisting that all communications with Parliament regarding the facility have been clear and truthful.
Story By: Afia Ohenewaa Akyerem