The Finance Ministry’s decision to limit the Foreign Affairs Ministry to only 35 percent of its internally generated funds will make it challenging for them to fulfill commitments to Ghanaian missions abroad, as well as pay a $50 million loan from Societe Generale secured in 2016 for the refurbishment of Ghana's foreign missions.
Parliament on Thursday approved almost GHC 400 million allocation for the Foreign Affairs ministry, but the minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway feared outfit’s ability to handle some basic responsibilities and cater for emergencies with the 35 percent cut.
The retention allows the ministry to assist distressed missions because Government releases normally delay.
“The money that we are supposed to use to service the loan is the money that has been reduced considerably by the ministry of finance so what is going to happen is that, we might not be able to do anything and that will be a sad situation for us,” she bemoaned to Citi News.
Ken Ofori-Atta, Finance Minister
The Minister noted that, her ministry has taken up the reduction with the Finance Ministry “and they understand our plight.”
“We don't even have enough money to recruit staff to run goods and services and assets. We are not given that much. So we rely on the 35 percent that we retained of the 100 percent retention to run the missions… What happens is that, the 35 percent that is retained is what is sent to some of these missions to rescue them in times of difficulty.”
Ministry, Missions to suffer
Responding to the developments on Eyewitness News, a ranking member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, echoed Mrs. Ayorkor Botchway’s concerns, particularly the payment of the $50 million Societe Generale loan, among others.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
“If you look at the terms of that loan facility, the Foreign Ministry is expected to service that loan using the IGF that it generates… going by the report, the Ministry is expected to raise an IGF of a little over GHc149 million, but the Ministry of Finance is saying the Foreign Ministry can keep only about GHc 51 million.”
“With this GHc 51 million, you cannot be servicing your Societe General loan which you have six years to pay… you cannot achieve this target and at the same time also assist your distressed missions which the 100 percent retention was helping the foreign ministry achieve.”
The report presented by the Foreign Affairs Committee to Parliament highlighted this point and appealed to the Finance Minister to reconsider its decision.
Mr. Ablakwa cautioned that, “if this decision is not reversed, this Societe Generale $50 million loan facility which is intended to be used to refurbish our missions abroad and also to support the missions from the IGF facility; these two interventions are going to suffer.”
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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