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The Minority in Parliament is demanding a probe into the disbursement of GH¢350 million earmarked for flood relief and post-flood mitigation, insisting that unanswered questions remain over the source of the funds and the process used to release them.
Second Deputy Minority Whip and Weija-Gbawe MP, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, said the Minority wants the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General to appear before Parliament to explain how the money was accessed and whether due process was followed.
Speaking on Joy FM's Top Story on Wednesday, July 8, Mr Shaib said the Minority’s request was straightforward: Parliament must investigate the transaction to establish how what he described as an “illegitimacy” was eventually legitimised and whether the funds were actually disbursed from the lawful source.
“The Minority is requesting something very simple, that let us have a probe into this. Let us call upon the Minister of Finance and Minister of Justice to come and tell us how, first of all, an illegitimacy was legitimised, and how they actually went ahead to even do the disbursements, if at all,” he said.
His comments come amid a political dispute over the government’s handling of funds intended to support victims of the recent floods and finance mitigation efforts.
The controversy follows the government’s decision to seek GH¢350 million for flood response, with GH¢150 million meant for relief support and the remaining GH¢200 million intended for post-flood mitigation measures.
The Minority had earlier raised concerns over the Ministry of Finance’s announcement that the funds had been released despite an unresolved court process involving the Contingency Fund, which Parliament had initially approved as the source of the money.
Mr Shaib said the Minority fears that without full transparency, the disbursement could be manipulated in ways that fail to benefit flood victims.
“Because our thinking is that it is just to enrich a few people, and people are going to take advantage of flood victims and enrich themselves, and it is a cause for worry,” he said.
He stressed that the Minority’s concern is rooted in its duty to represent citizens affected by the floods, many of whom have lost lives, property and livelihoods.
He said the central issue is not merely whether Parliament approved the request, but whether the funds were eventually drawn from the proper source and used in line with the law.
Mr Shaib’s demand comes after government defended the transaction, arguing that no illegality had occurred because the Finance Minister ultimately drew the money from the Contingency Vote, rather than the Contingency Fund that had become the subject of a court order.
Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has maintained that the use of the Contingency Vote was lawful under the 2026 Appropriation Act and did not require fresh parliamentary approval.
The Minority, however, insists that the matter still requires scrutiny and says it will continue to push for answers on how the funds were sourced and disbursed.
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