Gov't begins 3-day cabinet meeting to assess data on coronavirus impact

Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has disclosed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his cabinet will hold a 3-day meeting to assess the economic impact of COVID-19 across the governance sectors in Ghana.

According to him, the conclave which starts on May 7, 2020, will be centred on examining the data gathered on the pandemic to mitigate measures on curbing the impact.

Speaking at a press briefing Thursday, May 7, 2020, Oppong Nkrumah said; “At a later retreat starting today May 7, government of Ghana will examine data so far that on the impact of COVID-19 across the governance sectors in Ghana.”

The Minister indicated that ever since the breakout of COVID-19, government has been concerned about the strain the crisis has had on socio-economic lives of Ghanaians hence the need to act on a better solution.

He also indicated that government has the actual data of the real impact of COVID-19 across various sectors education, health, economy, trade so the president has instructed: “all ministers to report on the impact across their sectors and proffer recommendations for recovery at the cabinet retreat.”

“In addition, the retreat will give government the opportunity to put together information for the 2020 mid-year budget review,” Oppong Nkrumah added.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), Kosi Yankey on her part said an estimated 200,00 Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME’s) are expected to benefit from a GH¢600m stimulus package.

This follows an earlier announcement by President Akufo-Addo to allocate the amount for MSME’s that may have been forced to fold due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

“Government, in collaboration with the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), Business & Trade Associations and selected Commercial and Rural Banks, will roll out a soft loan scheme up to a total of six hundred million cedis (GH¢600 million), which will have a one-year moratorium and two-year repayment period for micro, small and medium scale businesses,” the president is quoted to have said in an address to the nation.