We did not spend GHS1.7 billion on COVID-19 - Gov't clears air on viral report
- Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has clarified claims on the said GHc 1.7 billion government reportedly spent on dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic
- According to him, the government spent GHS19 billion on the COVID-19 pandemic contrary to media reports
- Oppong Nkrumah said the GHS1.7 billion reflects expenditure on only 2 items under the COVID-19 related expenditure
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During the presentation of the 2021 budget statement in Parliament, the caretaker finance minister stated that the government had spent GHS1.7 billion on dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, he claims the government spent GHS19 billion on the COVID-19 pandemic contrary to media reports.
His comments come after Member of Parliament for Yapei Kusawgu, John Jinapor, in a post stated that per the 2021 budget statement, only GHS1.7 billion of the allocated GHS19 billion for issues of COVID-19 in 2020 was utilized.
Source: UGC
However, clarifying the issue at a Press Conference, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said the amount quoted in the media was for just two items under the COVID-19 related expenditures.
“The GHS1.7 billion reflects expenditure on only 2 items under the COVID-19 related expenditure," he said.
In other news, President Akufo-Addo has fired back at anti-corruption activists questioning his commitment to fighting the scourge in the country.
Ghana is losing close to US$3 billion to corruption annually.
The president’s commitment and credibility to fighting corruption were recently under intense scrutiny following the forced retirement of Auditor General, Daniel Domelevo.
In other news, all public sector workers are not going to get any form of huge salary increments from 2021, till 2024, the finance ministry has said.
According to the Technical Adviser at the Finance Ministry, Samuel Nii Noi Ashong, there is currently no money available which would be used to increase the wages of workers in the public sector.
He said the impact of COVID-19 on the economy has forced the government into tightening its belts and channeling money to other sectors of the economy.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
