Minister of State-designate for Finance, Abena Osei-Asare, has clarified that the widely circulated document on the cost of signing the anti-LGBTQI bill to the President was leaked.
The document, originating from the Finance Ministry, warned that Ghana could lose an estimated $3.8 billion over the next five to six years should President Akufo-Addo sign the controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill.
Days after the bill was passed, the Ministry outlined the negative implications of the document on its expenditure, key government plans, and projects, urging President Akufo-Addo to hold off on signing the bill into law as it may cost the country greatly.
However, appearing before the appointment committee, Osei-Asare stated that the document was an internal memo that got leaked to the public and was also not an advice to the President.
“We heard certain sentiments from certain stakeholders so what we sought to do was to see how best we can address any revenue gap issue should they arise as a result of the passage of the bill. It was an internal memo. It wasn’t a memo that was to be sent outside because we were sitting to see how best we could close the gap,” she explained on Wednesday, March 13.
The Finance Ministry faced criticism from Minority MPs over this memo to the President.
Meanwhile, Abena Osei-Asare has stated that the government has no intention of reintroducing road tolls in 2024.
“The document that spells out the vision for the government in 2024 is the budget. So we are working with the budget and in the budget for 2024, I don’t think we introduced any lime item for road tolls and so it remains as such.”
On the country’s economic standings, the Minister-designate revealed that Ghana’s public debt is GHs621 billion as of December 2023.
Hon. Abena-Osei Asare (Minister of State Designate for Finance at the Presidency).
Public Hearing of the Appointments Committee to Consider H.E. President’s Nominations – Wednesday 13th March 2024. https://t.co/rhj7yF3POo— Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (@thegbcghana) March 13, 2024
tigpost.co