The Controller and Accountant-General's Department has rejected claims circulating on social media that government has already spent nearly GH¢11 billion on the Accra-Kumasi Expressway, insisting the assertion stems from a misunderstanding of public sector accounting procedures.
In a statement issued to clarify the matter, the Department said money allocated for the flagship highway project remains untouched in a dedicated Bank of Ghana account and has not been paid to any contractor.
According to the CAGD, the project is being implemented through Accra-Kumasi Expressway Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle established by the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund to oversee delivery of the road.
Accounting entry misunderstood
The Department explained that Parliament approved the use of proceeds from the Annual Budget Funding Amount and mineral royalties in the 2025 Budget to finance the project. Those funds were subsequently transferred from the Consolidated Fund into a dedicated account held at the Bank of Ghana.
It stressed, however, that the transfer should not be interpreted as money already spent on construction.
"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 statement said.
The Department added that ongoing right-of-way clearing by the Ghana Armed Forces is a separate preparatory exercise and is not being financed from the allocated funds.
How government accounting works
Explaining the accounting treatment, the CAGD said transfers from the Consolidated Fund to state-owned entities are recorded as grant expenditure in the books of Central Government and as grant revenue by the receiving institution.
That approach, it noted, is standard practice under Ghana's Public Financial Management framework and applies equally to transfers made to institutions such as the District Assemblies Common Fund, GETFund and the National Health Insurance Authority.
"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 Department stated.
The CAGD maintained that the accounting treatment applied to the project complies fully with established government financial reporting standards and urged the public to distinguish between accounting entries and actual project expenditure.
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