The attention of the Controller and Accountant-General's Department (CAGD) has been drawn to claims circulating on social media suggesting that Government has spent almost GH¢11 billion on the Accra-Kumasi Expressway project, even though the main construction works have not started.

The CAGD wishes to clarify that this claim is based on a misunderstanding of Government accounting procedures.

The Accra-Kumasi Expressway is one of Government's flagship infrastructure projects. To avoid the delays, funding challenges, and cost overruns that have affected similar projects in the past, Government, acting through the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), established the Accra-Kumasi Expressway Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), to implement the project. The company is classified as a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) for funding and accounting purposes.

Following Parliament's approval of the concession, 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 transferred from the Consolidated Fund into a dedicated Bank of Ghana account.

The CAGD wishes to emphasise that these funds have not been paid to any contractor or spent on construction works. They remain in the dedicated Bank of Ghana account pending project execution.

The ongoing right-of-way clearing by the Ghana Armed Forces is a separate preparatory activity and is not being financed from these funds.

The CAGD also wishes to clarify that 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 the Accra-Kumasi Expressway Limited falls). Under Government accounting rules, every transfer of money from Central Government (the Consolidated Fund) to another Government entity outside the Central Government accounting group (MDAs) is recorded as Grant Expenditure in the books of Central Government and as Grant Revenue in the books of the receiving entity.

This is a standard accounting treatment and does not mean the receiving entity has spent the funds. The same principle 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 Controller and Accountant-General's Department assures 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.

Source: 3news