Flood relief: Minority calls for Attorney General to resign over GH¢350m Contingency Fund withdrawal

The Minority in Parliament has called for the resignation or dismissal of Attorney General and Minister for Justice Dr Dominic Ayine, accusing him of mishandling the legal process surrounding the release of GH¢350 million (£22m; $34m) from the country's Contingency Fund to support victims of recent floods.

The Minority caucus says the Attorney General failed to follow the law by authorising the release of the money despite an existing garnishee order affecting the Contingency Fund.

Addressing a news conference in Accra on Tuesday, the Deputy Minority Leader, Patricia Appiagyei, argued that the Attorney General should first have applied to the courts to set aside the garnishee order before any withdrawal from the fund was made.

"Should he fail to do the honourable thing, we call on the President, who swore an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, to relieve him of office without delay," she said.

The opposition has also demanded that both the Attorney General and Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson appear before Parliament to explain the circumstances surrounding the withdrawal.

It wants the government to produce the court order, records of the legal proceedings that resulted in the garnishee order, and all correspondence exchanged between the Attorney General and the Finance Ministry relating to the release of the funds.

The Minority has further called on the Governor of the Bank of Ghana to clarify whether the central bank acted on the Attorney General's directive and to disclose the account from which the GH¢350 million was ultimately transferred.

It has also requested the Auditor-General to conduct a special audit into the flood relief expenditure and report the findings to Parliament.

The caucus warned that it would pursue legal action, including seeking a parliamentary inquiry and filing a case at Ghana's Supreme Court, if the government failed to provide satisfactory explanations.

The controversy centres on the government's decision to release GH¢350 million following devastating floods that hit parts of Accra and other areas on 29 June, leaving widespread destruction and displacing hundreds of residents.

The government says the funds were released after President John Dramani Mahama directed the Finance Ministry to mobilise emergency resources for relief operations and flood mitigation.

According to the Finance Ministry, Parliament approved the withdrawal from the Contingency Fund in line with Article 177 of Ghana's Constitution before the Finance Minister authorised the Controller and Accountant-General to transfer the money to a dedicated National Disaster Management Committee account at the Bank of Ghana.

The ministry says the account has since been credited with the full amount, with GH¢200 million earmarked for emergency relief for affected communities and GH¢150 million allocated to flood prevention and mitigation projects.

However, the Minority insists the government must provide documentary proof that the money was lawfully withdrawn from the Contingency Fund despite the court-ordered garnishee proceedings.