Audio By Carbonatix
The Minority in Parliament is demanding details of the $100m allocated by government to the fight against novel coronavirus.
According to the Majority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister for Finance must furnish the House with the further particulars to ensure accountability even as measures are rolled out towards ensuring prevention and containment of the virus.
President Akufo-Addo, in a public address on March 11, stated that the setting aside of the funds was necessary to step up the county’s preparedness to fight the disease.
“At my prompting, the Minister for Finance has made available the cedi equivalent of $100 million to enhance our coronavirus preparedness and response plan,” the President said.
Information Minister subsequently told Evans Mensah on Joy FM’s Top Story the following day that the said fund was sourced from the Consolidated Fund and other donor partners committed to the fight against the disease.
The World Bank had earlier made available an initial package of up to $12 billion in immediate support to assist countries in coping with the health and economic impacts of the global outbreak.
Confirming Ghana's receipt of some support from the Bank, Mr Nkrumah could, however, not readily provide details of the exact amount that hit the country’s account.
On the fraction secured from the Consolidated Fund and other donor partners, he said “I don’t have that in front of me right now but the lump sum is what I am able to share with you as the President mentioned.
But speaking on the floor of Parliament today after the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta made a presentation in the House, Minority Leader quizzed, “Why is it conspicuously lost in your statement the state of the $100 million.”
“We want to know whether you have committed the money as was directed by the president and for what purpose,” he added.
The Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service on March 15, 2020, confirmed four more cases of the deadly coronavirus in the country.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to six.
Latest Stories
-
He entered at eight. He is now 16: Ghana’s children growing up in prayer camps
3 hours -
‘Development must not always begin from Accra’ — Anwelle Foundation launched in Jirapa
3 hours -
PKO trio eye victories at Odwira Festival
6 hours -
346 Ghana Navy recruits pass out after 26 weeks of intensive training
6 hours -
Newsfile to discuss EOCO-MP arrest, drug trafficking, speech arrests and $235m water debt
6 hours -
JoyNews gets results as listeners raise GH¢40,000 to help 17-year-old student with cerebral palsy attend SHS
7 hours -
Vice President calls for stronger local pharmaceutical production to reduce medicine imports
7 hours -
The brewing tension at KNUST; Beware the Ides of October….
7 hours -
Health Ministry moves to integrate traditional medicine into mainstream healthcare
8 hours -
550 pupils in Kintampo South get educational lifeline as ‘Seeds of Hope’ reaches farming communities
8 hours -
Opoku Mensah urges Christian Council, House of Chiefs to speak up on democratic freedoms
8 hours -
Teacher unions’ strike: Minority demands immediate payment of teacher arrears, 20% deprived area allowance
8 hours -
The Accra-Kumasi Expressway: Building it right
9 hours -
Beyond gold exports: Building value and economic resilience from Ghana’s gold
9 hours -
2027 AFCONQ: Ghana under pressure as Gambia beat Somalia 2-1
9 hours