The Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini, has dared the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to provide the real amount of money it utilized in organizing the National Consultative Dialogue on Illegal Small Scale Mining.

His challenge comes after the Ministry denied his claim that it spent more than GH¢10 million to hold national discussions and campaigns on galamsey.

Suhuyini accused government of frivolously spending the colossal amount, but the Ministry said that was false.

The MP is however not satisfied with the Ministry’s disclaimer, especially because it failed to disclose specifically how much was expended.

He is thus urging the Lands Ministry to come clear with its expenditure.

“I have provided the figures and documents given to us and signed by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, and it is still in the records of Parliament. I will expect that the Ministry should put out their contrary figures. I am saying that these are figures they gave to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Lands during the budget estimate consideration, and it was distributed to our members by the clerk”, he said on Eyewitness News.

Suhuyini, also a Deputy Ranking Member on the Lands Committee alleged that GH¢2.14 million was used on the National Consultative Dialogue in Accra; another GH¢3.7 million was expended on the one held in the Northern and Middle Belt, with GH¢5.4 million going into regional tours summing up to over GH¢10 million.

The Ministry disputes these figures but the legislator wants full disclosure.

“To be very honest, the Minister has been proactive and when his attention was drawn to it, he expressed shock at it and also demanded some information on the amount that was expended. So it is interesting that the Ministry will say, I am peddling falsehood. I challenge them to give us the figures, so we compare so that we settle the matter on who is speaking the truth or not.”