Ato Forson Defuses Propaganda
The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, has pushed back against allegations suggesting that he has settled payments to contractors, including businessman and former Member of Parliament for the Assin Central constituency, Ken Ohene Agyapong.
Denying the claims, the Minister, who assumed office just a month ago, emphasized that no payments have been authorized to contractors engaged by the previous government for various projects.
In particular, he addressed speculation surrounding his former parliamentary colleague who owns Ken City Company Limited.
“We are diligently examining and verifying contracts and payment requests submitted to the ministry to ensure accuracy,” stated the Finance Minister in a statement released.
Taking to social media platform X to refute the claims, the MP for Ejumako Enyan Essiam constituency clarified, “Since assuming office, no contractor, including Kennedy Agyapong, has received any payments.
We are currently conducting a thorough review of all contracts and payment requests to confirm their validity.
” He urged the public to disregard the false information and concluded, “Please ignore any insinuations that I have approved payments to Kennedy Ohene Agyapong or any other contractor.”
The Finance Minister’s statement comes amidst reports of the government making significant payments to contractors from the previous administration.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister-designate for Finance and MP for the Asuogyaman constituency, Thomas Ampem Darko, faced questioning at the Appointments Committee of Parliament, focusing largely on economic matters.
Emphasizing the government’s commitment to enhancing internal revenue generation and reducing excessive borrowing, the three-time MP highlighted the need to curtail expenditure.
“We are aiming to boost revenue generation aggressively and cut down on spending. The president’s initiative to reduce the number of ministers by about 24 demonstrates our acknowledgment of the challenges we are addressing,” he remarked.