DVLA's internal fund not going into Consolidated Fund - Finance Minister

Minister of Finance, Seth Terkper has dismissed claims by some workers of the Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority that government is plotting to deprive them of their internally generated funds.

The workers said a directive by the chief executive officer DVLA asked that all revenue collected by the licensing offices be transferred into the Consolidated Fund .

Henceforth monies collected were paid into some designated accounts operated by the Bank of Ghana and Ecobank.

But Mr. Terkper told George Wiafe on Joy FM’s Business Trends Wednesday that “nobody is taking the internally generated funds".

He said the directive is not limited to only the DVLA but other institutions to enable the Controller and Accountant General to report on gross and increase the quality of public accounting.

He explained that the directive is necessary “so that you know the total amount that is coming in.”

He pointed out, “It is a directive with respect to all the institutions. Remember the IGF is part of the budget and, therefore, the controller or the minister of finance going to parliament must account for the gross revenue.”

Mr. Terkper maintained that an electronic system has been put in place to streamline monies that end up in a suspended fund.

Monies paid into those accounts would not go into the general consolidated fund, Mr. Terkper clarified, “but into a suspended fund so that the portion that has to go to government will then go straight into the consolidated fund and the portion that goes to institutions that have IGF will go to them.

“The next step is that we are going to require that they use the release system and others to pay for those IGF,” the Finance Minister said

But former Chief Executive of DVLA Joe Osei Owusu told Joy News the workers must oppose the directive because it contravenes the law.