The Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has revealed that the government has uncovered Gh¢7 billion expenditure which was not captured in the nation’s financial books by the outgone Mahama-led administration.

The former deputy governor of the Bank of Ghana said the expenses range from 2014 to 2016. According to him, it was detected as the new government prepares the 2017 budget which is expected to be presented in March.

“As we interrogated the data to see exactly why our public finances are in the state they are, we found that there is GH¢7 billion of expenditure that has not been disclosed,” Dr. Bawumia said at a Good Corporate Governance Forum in Accra.

Speaking at the Forum organized by Krif Ghana Limited in collaboration with Action Chapel International and the US Embassy, Dr Bawumia said the economic situation of the country is disturbing.

“Where have they [GHC7 billion] been hiding all these years?” he asked. “And how are you supposed to manage an economy with faulty data. Getting the data right is really very key because it throws the entire budget into disarray.”
“Because you are going into 2017 and suddenly you are told that by the way there is Ghc7billion that you have to pay next year that you didn’t anticipate, this is the reality.

“We’ve been less than a month in office, but we have taken some steps to accelerate the implementation of some measures that will ensure accountability, transparency and integrity in government,” the Vice President opined.