Ken Ofori-Attah, Finance Minister
A number of public enterprises and corporations as well as private companies owe the government billions of Ghana cedis following ‘injectable’ loans the government advanced to help them strengthen their businesses to boost the national economy.
As at the end of 2015, some of the defaulting companies, as captured in the Report of the Auditor General on the Public Accounts of Ghana were VODAFONE, which owes GH¢686.5 million; Volta River Authority (VRA), GH¢218.470,000; West African Gas Pipeline, GH¢88,682,343; Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), GH¢71,113,533; Ashantigold, GH¢56,708,064; Ghana Oil Company (GOIL), GH¢26,905,604 and Cocoa Processing Company (CPC), GH¢32,305,263.
Others were Metro Mass Transport, GH¢18,781,660; Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), GH¢14,978,700; Intercity STC Company, GH¢1,447,440; Ghana Publishing Company Ltd, GH¢677,761 and Ghana Trade Fair Authority, GH¢500,000.
Some of the state companies which owe the Ghana government and have become defunct include Mankoadze Fisheries, GH¢184,972,182; Ghana Airways, GH¢4,578,534; Ghana International Airlines Ltd, GH¢5,142,821; City Express Services, GH¢1,213,718; Aveyime Rice Project, GH¢1,039,822 and Meat Marketing Board, GH¢24,551.
At the sitting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament yesterday, members of the committee were very worried at the extent to which many public and private companies owe the nation and the slow rate of recovery.
According to them, many of those loans owed by the defunct companies had been standing in the financial books of the government for over 12 years and could qualify for ‘bad debts.’
Responding to the concerns of the members of the committee, the Controller and Accountant General, Eugene Ofosuhene, said even though those debts had been standing in the books of the government for a long time, they are not necessarily bad debts but could be described as ‘doubtful debts’ – meaning those companies concerned would come and pay the loans back.
He said clearance ought to be given by the government for those loans to be described as ‘bad debts’ and consequently ordered to be written off.
According to him, the government is doing all it can to recover all the loans.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr