Parliament rejects Foreign Ministry’s €116m budget for redevelopment of AICC
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ plan to raise an amount of €116 million to reconstruct the Accra International Conference Center (AICC) has been rejected by Parliament.
The Minority Caucus raised concerns at the committee hearing on Wednesday culminating in a rejection of the plan by the House.
Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said the project is not a necessity in this current harsh economic climate.
He noted that the reconstruction of the AICC has not been listed among the essential projects for the Ministry under 2023, a reason for the rejection of the budget.
“As we have noted in our report, some members of the Committee expressed their inability to support the reconstruction of the Accra International Conference Centre because of the distressed nature of the current economy.
Parliament rejects Foreign Ministry’s €116m budget for redevelopment of AICC
“They again argue that the reconstruction of the AICC has not been captured in the list of essential projects of the Ministry of Finance for the year 2023.”
The Foreign Affairs Committee has therefore recommended that the Ministry produces the report of the feasibility studies and the structural integrity of the AICC to inform the future decision of the project.
The North Tongu MP explained that the Minority will not support the redevelopment of the AICC when the feasibility report, value for money report and structural integrity report on the project have not been provided.
Mr Ablakwa also described as unnecessary, the plan of the Ministry to open new embassies around the world.
“We (the Minority) do not think that it is a great idea at this time to be opening a new diplomatic mission in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and in Mexico as has been programmed for projects to be executed in 2023.
“We have conveyed our strong objection to this plan by the Ministry,” he added.
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Source: Kwaku Asante
