Following the lifting of the three-week partial lockdown by President Akufo-Addo, government received a lot of backlash from the main opposition National Democratic Congress, individuals, health experts and some civil society groups for fear of an increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
But the President explained that the decision to lift the lockdown was backed by science and data.
However, Finance Minister has revealed the real reasons behind the government’s decision to lift the partial lockdown that was imposed on the Greater Accra, Greater Kumasi, and Kasoa areas as part of measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Speaking at an event at the Jubilee House, Ken Ofori-Atta said Ghana’s economy couldn’t withstand the partial lockdown beyond three weeks.
According to him, the country’s economy is largely informal and cannot sustain a lockdown beyond that duration.
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“When you look at what happened during the lockdown. It was quite clear after a point that given that 90% of our population is informal and they go out each day to earn wages, it became increasingly impossible to continue with such a policy,” he disclosed.
Though government is implementing various fiscal and monetary measures to mitigate the adverse effect of the pandemic on the economy, the Finance Ministry is anticipating that growth could slow to 1.5 percent.
Also, Mr Ofori Atta believes Ghana will record a significant drop in revenue target for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic because the country is recording a huge decline in revenue from the port, petroleum revenue receipts as well as tax revenue.
He revealed that the cumulative effect of the novel coronavirus pandemic will cost Ghana GHC9.505 billion.
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