The Finance Minister has insisted that the Nana Akufo-Addo-led administration is spending the taxpayers’ money judiciously.

Ken Ofori-Atta added that the government is besides that, saving the state monies that would have otherwise been lost.

In his budget review presentation in Parliament Monday, the Minister told MPs that the government has “been able to entrench fiscal discipline through the strategic allocation of resources, efficiency in the use of public funds, as well as enhancing transparency and accountability in…management of the public purse.”

“Candidate Akufo-Addo promised to protect the public purse and that is exactly what we have been doing at the Treasury,” he added.

In addition, Ofori-Atta said in their two and half years in office, the government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has saved the state GH¢2.75 billion in reviewed contracts.

This, he said breaks down to GH¢800 million in 2017, GH¢1.1 billion in 2018, and GH¢1.085 billion in 2019.

The Minister said the contracts under the spotlight here are the ones which “were either sole-sourced or procured through restrictive tender.”

Comparison

According to Ofori-Atta, despite the fact that the Akufo-Addo government has awarded more contracts under sole-sourcing and restrictive tender annually than any year, they have nonetheless chalked savings.

However, the erstwhile John Mahama administration, according to Ofori-Atta, saved absolutely nothing.

“In 2013 savings registered was zero cedis. In 2014, again, savings made amounted to zero cedis. In 2015, savings made totalled zero cedis. In 2016, again the PPA made zero cedis in savings.”

“We believe it is very important on days like this we show to the people of Ghana that this government…spends the taxes you pay for your benefit and for the benefit of the collective,” he added.

“This is because we consider the social contract between the government and the people as a sacred covenant,” he said.