�Where Is The Money?� - Kennedy Agyapong Wants To Know

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central Constituency, Kennedy Agyapong, is challenging the New Democratic Congress (NDC) government to explain how they only made a profit of four thousand six hundred dollars ($4,600) after investing fifty four million, eight hundred and five thousand dollars ($54,805) as stated in the 2013 budget. According to Mr. Agyapong, after analyzing the budget presented by the Finance Minister Seth Terkper recently, he believes the Mahama-led administration has misused government funds without accounting for. �This is the budget they presented in parliament and after reading; I could tell this people (the NDC) have �chopped� our (Ghanaians) money. Where is the money? These are genuine questions we have to ask. Because when Ghana discovered oil, we were hoping the country could stand on its feet economically and embark on some developmental projects, but if you look at how the NDC government is disbursing this money, it�s very pathetic,� he said. Kennedy Agyapong claims his mother will not even disburse such an amount of money if given to invest. �My uneducated mother if given 45,805 dollars to work at Makola will not tell you she made a profit of only 4,600 dollars. Even at Makola you will not gain this as profit after investing such a whooping sum of money,� he opined. Mr. Kennedy Agyapong quoted pages from the Committee�s reports covering receipts of oil revenues in 2011 and 2012. Speaking on HELLO FM, the outspoken NPP MP explained that after setting aside a percentage of the oil proceeds for the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, the remainder is transferred into the Petroleum Fund, where about 70% is used to support the budget while the remainder is transferred into the Heritage Fund. He insists there is a discrepancy in the figures for oil proceeds read in the 2013 budget by Finance Minister Seth Terkper and the report of the constitutionally mandated body charged with monitoring the use of oil proceeds, the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC). The Petroleum Fund holds all the money Ghana earns from the lifting of oil, while the Heritage Fund was set up by law to receive and hold a portion of oil proceeds for future generations. �In 2011, government transferred $69.21 million into the Petroleum Fund after receiving $444million. But when Ghana received $979,315,485 in 2012, government transferred only $45,595,226m. �The law requires that after every lifting, some money should be transferred into the Petroleum Fund. But this was not always the case in 2012. What happened? Where is the money?� he asked.