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SONA: We've spent over Gh¢17 bn to contain covid 19 - Akufo-Addo

Wed, 30 Mar 2022 Source: Harrygraphic

Speaking at the State Of The Nation's address, H.E Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo revealed some wild figures about the amount used for containing the deadly coronavirus on 30th March 2022.

In a brief statement by him, he encouraged Ghanaians to accept the decision to pass the e-levy and embrace it because that us the only way to revive the economy from it's current state. He stated that Gh¢17.7bn was used to contain covid 19.

“Mr Speaker, we have saved lives and fared much better than we had feared and the experts predicted, but the consequences of lockdowns, border and business closures, and unplanned expenditures have combined to have a devastating impact on our economy.

“The unplanned expenditures included, but were not limited to, the recruitment, on a permanent basis, of fifty-eight thousand, one hundred and ninety-one (58,191) healthcare professionals, and the payment of extra incentives to our frontline health workers.

“It took an unbudgeted GH¢1.9 billion to ensure that our children and teaching staff went back and stayed in school safely. Some, including a few in this Honourable House, went as far as to accuse the government of trying to kill Ghanaian children when we introduced the controlled school re-openings. I might add here that, in some countries, school closures have lasted for twenty (20) months, and children are only now going back to school. Our children did not lose a single academic year.

“We provided nearly five million (5 million) households and over ten million (10 million) people with electricity and water subsidies at the time they were most needed. In all, data from the Ministry of Finance tells us that an amount of GH¢17.7 billion (or 4.6% of GDP) has been spent on containing the pandemic since 2020.”

Source: Harrygraphic