Government mobilised GH¢18.19 billion to fight COVID-19 – Ofori-Atta

There are no inconsistencies with Ghana's COVID-19 expenditure, Ofori-Atta

Govt has spent GH¢12.04 billion on COVID-19, Ofori-Atta

Over GH¢763 million of COVID-19 funds used for Agenda 111, Ofori-Atta

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has stated that there are no inconsistencies with data on revenue mobilised and used in Ghana's COVID-19 efforts, as is being asserted by some sections of the public.

He indicated that the previous figures provided by government officials on the monies collected and expended on the country's COVID-19 efforts kept varying because of new additions.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, Ken Ofori-Atta added that data collected as of May 2022 indicated that Ghana raised over GH¢18 billion to fight COVID-19.

"… I wish to dispel the notion that there have been inconsistencies in government data on COVID-19. His Excellency the President intimated during that State of the Nation Address on March 30 2022 that we had mobilised about GH¢17.7 billion since 2020 to fight the pandemic.

"We have subsequently reconciled the data, and I can report that as of end of May 2022, we have mobilised GH¢18.19 billion to mitigate the effect of the pandemic. Again, when His Excellency the Vice President indicated on April 7 2022, at the National TESCON Conference, that government had spent GH¢8.1 billion on COVID-19, it was within the context of expenditures for 2020, as I have already indicated," the minister said.

The minister further added that the government had spent about GH¢12.04 billion of the GH¢18.19 billion raised to contain the spread and mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on lives and properties.

He explained that the government spent GH¢ 1.55 billion under the Support to Households Programme, GH¢ 1.049 billion for relief to health workers and COVID-19 supplies, GH¢ 600 million to commence the construction of facilities and GH¢ 763.92 million on the Agenda 111 projects.

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