Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister of Information
The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, yesterday disclosed that the government would protect all flagship programmes, even as it takes some expenditure cuts.
He added, however, that the programmes will witness some review, which will be done within the constraints “of the fiscal framework we are working with.”
According to the Information Minister, this is one of the decisions that were arrived at during the three-day Cabinet retreat held at Peduase Lodge, in the Eastern Region, to find ways to mitigate the economic difficulties in the country.
“All the 16 flagship programmes are up to be looked at. The President has directed that the flagship programmes should be protected and fully implemented to ensure that the impact is achieved. However, he wants it done within the constraints of item number two, which is the fiscal framework we are working with,” he said yesterday in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM.
He added: “If based on the caps that we are working with we will have to re-scope a particular flagship programme, we will do it and see how much we can achieve. So, all the 16 are up for discussion; none is off-limit”.
He said the President “has laid down the red line that we will not compromise on the fiscal consolidation agenda because our real problem over the years has been a year-on-year deficit going out of hand.”
Measures
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information has announced that Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta, in the course of the week, will provide details on key measures and reliefs the government has decided on to recover the economy, after consultations with key social and economic stakeholders.
In a statement released yesterday, it said the new measures were discussed at the just-ended Cabinet retreat.
The statement said President Nana Addo Dankwa approved a number of far-reaching measures aimed at mitigating the depreciation of the cedi, ensuring expenditure discipline and providing relief in the face of global fuel price hikes and inflation. Additionally, the measures will ensure that priority programmes meant to grow the economy are protected.
“Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta will provide the details of measures later this week after consultations with key social and economic stakeholders. Government appreciates the efforts of all who contributed to a successful retreat and looks forward to the support of all Ghanaians in implementing the agreed measures,” the statement added.
Reliefs
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is said to have sanctioned some major reliefs as part of efforts to salvage the economy from its current challenges and set it back to its pre-COVID-19 levels.
According to the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the reliefs include opening of the country’s land borders, easing of general COVID-19 restrictions as well as measures to arrest currency depreciation.
Part of these reliefs are also said to be measures to tackle the rising fuel prices, which have been occasioned by the global economic turmoil brought on by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. It will also address the canker of persistent rise in prices of goods and services.
According to the Information Minister, “the reliefs are also expected to answer questions being posed by economic watchers on how the Government of Ghana will respond to the current global economic challenges”.
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