The Vice Chairperson of the Finance Committee in Parliament says the 2nd Deputy, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, who presided over the House on Friday, did not direct for the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to suspend payments to Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML).
This follows reports that Parliament has asked the Ghana Revenue Authority to suspend all payments related to the contract on revenue assurance with SML until an investigation into the deal is conducted by the Finance Committee of the House.
In an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on Friday, December 22, Patrick Yaw Boamah explained that such payment suspension could lead to a judgement debt.
“I don’t recall the 2nd Deputy Speaker who was in the chair directing the suspension of payments because that would be very difficult for the House to enforce,” he told Evans Mensah.
He stated that the allegations surrounding the SML contract exposé, which the minority is calling for an investigation into, have not been probed yet, adding that “Until proven, how can Parliament without having gone through the investigation that has been requested by the Minority direct that payment ought to be suspended? That is a very difficult one,” he said.
Mr Boamah also noted that the Majority side of the house is not against the probe into the SML contract, adding that they will support any activity sanctioned by the Speaker to look into any matter.
He further stated that since Ghanaians are all asking for transparency in the public sector, there is nothing wrong with the Minority asking for a probe.
“I don’t have a problem with it, the Majority will not have a problem with it, and we all want to know the truth of this transaction. If what they are doing is justified under the law and will help with our revenue enhancement, why not? But we cannot on the face of a report allege that something fraudulent has happened,” he said.