The Ministry of Trade and Industry has denied the claim that it is unable to fully account for GHS 269 million allocated for the payment of interest subsidies to some firms under the One District, One Factory (1D1F) policy.
The Ranking Member on the Trade and Industry Committee of Parliament, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, had alleged that out of GH¢269 million allocated for the payment of interest subsidies, the Ministry could only account for about GH¢62 million at the budget hearings.
“Unfortunately, the Ministry was only able to account for GH¢62,281,484. What it means is that a total amount of GH¢207,407,899 has not been accounted for. As far as we are concerned, that amount of money is missing…Alan Kyerematen must come clean and explain where the amount of over GH¢207 million is,” Mr. Buah had claimed.
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However, the Ministry, in a statement signed by its Chief Director, Patrick Yaw Nimo, dismissed this claim, insisting that the GHS 207 million was in the custody of the Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) pending the maturity dates for interest payments for loans granted to IDIF companies.
It indicated that Mr. Buah’s claim was unfounded, given that the Ministry is not responsible for disbursing interest subsidies to firms.
“The Ministry wishes to state categorically that the said statement attributed to the Ranking Member is not only misleading but totally inaccurate. Neither the Minister nor any representative of the Ministry is responsible for disbursing interest subsidies directly to IDIF companies.”
