The Majority Chief Whip in Parliament Rockson-Nelson Etse Kwami Defeamekpor has cautioned the media liaison at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, to exercise restraint when dealing with matters of governance.
The South Dayi constituency lawmaker said working in the public sector or a ministry is a totally different thing all together and that, one needs to be circumspect when coming out in the public domain.
Speaking on the public dispute between the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance that played out in the media space on Friday, June 5, he said Samuel Huntor, acted in a haste.
According to him, the sector Minister Eric Opoku who understands these nuances was not even in the country as he is on a trip with President John Mahama.
He pointed out that the Finance Ministry did not lie in its statement that it has released GHc1.6 billion to the Agric Ministry because that is the usual thing but the problem he said may have come from the Controller and Accountant General Department where often there are delays.
“What happened yesterday was quite unfortunate. Usually, the Finance Ministry will show us the release, but it goes to the Controller for the Controller to make payment. When the Finance Ministry says they have done release, they actually spoke the truth. It takes the Controller some time.
Why did the Controller delays in making the releases? We know the bureaucracies”, he explained on the Keypoints programme.
Yesterday, Friday June 5, Samuel Huntor issued a statement debunking the financial commitment claim that what it said was untrue because no such figure has been released in the Ministry’s name.
The latter ministry headed by Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, had through the Deputy Minister Thomas Amem Nyarko said last Wednesday that, it has released the said GHc1.6 to the former, representing 85 percent of the 2026 budget release.
The Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, disclosed this during the launch of Ghana’s National Pact for Agricultural Transformation, Food Security and Employment (AgriConnect Compact) on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.
“I am pleased to confirm that we have released GH¢1.677 billion, representing 85 percent of the approved 2026 Budget for Goods and Services and Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture,” he stated.
He explained that the Mahama Administration was matching its agricultural transformation agenda with substantial financial commitments and targeted investments.
Asuogyaman constituency legislator said the government’s commitment to agriculture was evident in a number of flagship programmes being implemented under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama.
Mr Nyarko Ampem was speaking at the launch of Ghana’s National Pact for Agricultural Transformation, Food Security and Employment (AgriConnect Compact).
According to the Finance Ministry, headed by the MP for the Ejumako Enyan Essiem constituency, the releases for Goods and Services have reached 94.73 percent.
It said CAPEX disbursements stand at 74.66 percent, evidence, it says, of strong budget implementation.
The ministry further explained that, with the exception of transfers to the National Food Buffer Stock Company, all requests for funds were initiated by MoFA through the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) and processed using standard public financial management procedures.
The Agric Ministry in a strongly worded statement signed by Media Liaison Officer, countering the Finance Ministry, said the figures stated in the release do not align with official budget execution documents in their possession issued by the Ministry itself.
“The attention of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has been drawn to claims by the Ministry of Finance that it has released GHc1.6, representing 85% of MOFA’s 2026 budget allocation. These claims do not align with the official budget execution documents issued by the Ministry of Finance itself.
Baring it all, it argued that regardless of the fact that it received a Commitment Authorization on February 15, 2026, the First and Second Quarter Budget Allotment Letter issued almost immediately, four days later, capped the ministry’s expenditure for the first half of the year at GH¢910 million.
It additionally stated that the accompanying allotment schedule limited actual spending between January and June to about GH¢453 million, covering compensation, operational expenses and existing contractual obligations.
MoFA gave the breakdown insisting that allocations under the approved spending framework included GH¢172.5 million for Farmer Service Centres, GH¢77.3 million for fertiliser and certified seeds, GH¢36.75 million for the Nkokonkitinkiti Programme, GH¢30 million for the National Food Buffer Stock Company, GH¢26.25 million for irrigation infrastructure and GH¢4.5 million for the Feed Ghana Programme.
The statement captioned “stop the infantile propaganda before it explodes”, said that it has not received any subsequent authorization or revised allotment from the Finance Ministry that would support claims that more than GH¢1.6 billion has been released.
Questioning the basis of the Finance Ministry’s figures, MoFA argued that public financial management is governed by officially approved allotments and cash releases rather than public statements.
It said it has attached commitment authorisation and allotment documents to substantiate its position that expenditure was capped at GH¢910 million for the first half of the year.
MoFA’s Media Liaison Officer, Samuel Huntor, said the ministry’s position is backed by official records and called for transparency and accuracy in the reporting of public financial data.
By Gifty Boateng