Gov’t’s ‘bold’ response to COVID-19 pandemic was ‘costly’ – Ken Ofori Atta

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has praised the strategies that were put in place by the Akufo-Addo-led adminstration to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana.

Presenting the 2022 Budget on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, the Finance Minister described the response as ‘bold, decisive and compassionate, but also costly.’

“Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of the pandemic, we had to address both the immediate as well as persisting health and economic impacts of the pandemic. Our response was bold, decisive and compassionate, but also costly,” he said.

Economists have attributed the recent economic crisis in the country to the pandemic which forced the government to over-spend its budget.

This, the Finance Minister agress indicating that the government supported several companies during the period.

“Under the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support Scheme (CAPBuSS), Ghana Enterprises Agency provided 302,001 successful applicants across various sectors and regions with loans amounting to GHȼ523.11 million.

“Tax exemptions worth GHȼ36.8 million were also granted to our frontline staff while 10.1 million and 4.78 million households were provided with free water and electricity, respectively.” he said.

He further boasted that the government ensured that no public sector worker was laid off in the heat of the pandemic.

“I am proud to announce that not a single Ghanaian public sector worker was laid off as a result of the impact of the pandemic on our public finances and we have managed to pay them monthly,” he added.