The Ministry of Works and Housing has denied allegations of misappropriating $65 million from the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project fund, which was allocated for COVID-19-related expenses.
The Ministry clarified that the World Bank and the government had agreed to incorporate a “Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC)” into the credit facility.
This component allows beneficiary countries to redirect project funds to address emergencies during the project’s duration.
In a statement released on Monday, the Ministry explained that the GARID Project credit facility was approved by Parliament in November 2019 and became operational in February 2020. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the Ministry said the government activated the CERC and redirected $65 million of the project fund towards COVID-19-related expenses.
“Prior to disbursement, the Ministry of Health, responsible for implementing the CERC, submitted a detailed work plan and budget, which were approved by the Ministry of Finance and the World Bank.”
“Subsequently, the GARID project transferred the amount to the Ministry of Health for implementation. The CERC implementation was completed in 2022, with a comprehensive report submitted to the World Bank. The Ghana Audit Service also audited the CERC activities and submitted their report to the World Bank in 2023,” the statement further elaborated.
Read the full statement from the Works and Housing Ministry here
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