Flagstaff House ‘Over-Chops’ GH¢44m

Prosper Bani – Chaff of Staff
The Seat of Government - the Flagstaff House - has reportedly overspent its budgetary allocation for the 2014 fiscal year by over GH¢44 million, even before the year runs out.

As at September, the Presidency had spent GH¢76 million, far in excess of the GH¢30,929,343 approved by Parliament for the year 2014.

According to a report from the Finance Committee of Parliament therefore, between January and September, the Flagstaff House had overspent its budgetary allocation by over 100 per cent at a time most MDAs did not get a quarter of their allocations for the year under review.

The Ministry of Communications for instance cannot meet its recurrent expenditure including payment of utilities because budgetary allocation was not forthcoming, leading to the disconnection of electricity.

The Ministry is owing ECG about GH¢120,000 in accumulated bills; and this is just at its annex office at the defunct Ministry of Information.

The generator at the Ministry only functions when the Deputy Minister, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, is around after which it would be put off and work ceases for the day since there would not be power.

Indeed for two weeks, there was no power. Power was only restored after the ECG was paid part of the money yesterday to enable a Meet the Press by the Water Resources, Works and Housing Minister, Collins Dauda, to be held.

According to the Finance Committee report, the Presidency was allocated GH¢16,570,715 for the General Administration of the office but as at the end of September, GH¢23,241,614 had been spent.

The office of the Chief of Staff was allocated GH¢7,487,048, but spent GH¢48,811,722 within the period for its activities.

The Press Secretariat was allocated GH¢400,000 and spent GH¢233,056.

The Cabinet Secretariat also spent GH¢749,376 out of the GH¢1,000,000 given to the secretariat for its business for the year.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alex Afenyo-Markin, who raised the concern during the consideration of the 2015 budget allocation for the Office of Government Machinery in Parliament yesterday, said the Office of the President was blatantly disregarding Parliament, and hugely overspending its budget estimates.

According to him, budgetary allocations for other important sectors like the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) were intentionally not released to them so that it would pave the way for the Office of the President to overspend.

“Last year, we approved over GH¢21 million for the operations of SADA and according to our information nothing was released to them,' he said, adding that the action of the Presidency was very disingenuous to the people of Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta and Brong Ahafo Regions where SADA operations were to cover.

The Deputy Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, who moved the motion for the 2015 budget estimates for the Office of Government Machinery and the chairman of the Finance Committee, James Klutse Avedzi, who seconded the motion, argued that even though there was overspending at the Office of the President, the total budgetary allocation of GH¢326.8 million for the Office of Government Machinery was not exceeded.

However, the MP for Effutu said that could not be a good reason for the gross overspending at the Office of the President.

He said if the Office of the President had respect for Parliament, it would spend within what had been appropriated to it by Parliament and not overspend to the detriment of the important areas under the presidency.

“SADA is an important agency that will help bridge the gap of poverty between the north and south and the Office of the President did not see it as important to release the GH¢21 million which had been approved for its operations to it,' Afenyo-Markin told  DAILY GUIDE .

According to him, this year a paltry sum of GH¢400,000 had been allocated to SADA, which he strongly believed would also not be released for its operations.

The total allocation made for the 2015 fiscal year for spending by the Office of Government Machinery was GH¢453,877,343, out of which the government of Ghana would provide GH¢285,545,287 and development partners would provide GH¢12,429,758; while the rest would come from internally-generated funds of the office.

By Thomas Fosu Jnr