We Haven’t Spent GHC11 Billion On Accra-Kumasi Expressway- CAGD
The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) has dismissed claims that government has spent almost GHC11 billion on the Accra-Kumasi Expressway, a project yet to commence.
In a statement issued on the matter, the CAGD said the claim is based on a misunderstanding of government accounting procedures and does not reflect the actual status of funds for the project.
The Department explained that the government, acting through the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), established the Accra-Kumasi Expressway Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), to implement the project to avoid the delays, funding challenges and cost overruns that have affected similar projects in the past.
The company is classified as a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) for funding and accounting purposes.
It said that following Parliament’s approval of the concession, the government earmarked proceeds from the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) and mineral royalties in the 2025 Budget to finance the project.
The approved funds were subsequently transferred from the Consolidated Fund into a dedicated Bank of Ghana account.
The CAGD emphasised that these funds have not been paid to any contractor or spent on construction works.
According to the Department, the money remains in the dedicated Bank of Ghana account pending project execution.
It added that the ongoing right-of-way clearing being undertaken by the Ghana Armed Forces is a separate preparatory activity and is not being financed from these earmarked funds.
The CAGD also clarified that the government operates at three levels: Central Government comprising Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Local Government comprising Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), and Government Business Entities comprising State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), where Accra-Kumasi Expressway Limited falls.
Under government accounting rules, every transfer of money from Central Government, that is the Consolidated Fund, to another government entity outside the Central Government accounting group of MDAs, is recorded as Grant Expenditure in the books of Central Government and as Grant Revenue in the books of the receiving entity.
The Department said this is a standard accounting treatment and does not mean the receiving entity has spent the funds.
The same principle, it noted, applies to transfers made to institutions such as the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), GETFund and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
“It is therefore incorrect to conclude that because the transfer appears as expenditure in the accounts of Central Government, the funds have already been spent on the construction of the Accra-Kumasi Expressway,” the statement said.
The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department assured the public that the accounting treatment applied to the Accra-Kumasi Expressway project is fully consistent with Ghana’s Public Financial Management framework and established government accounting standards.
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