The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has appealed to Government to take bold steps now, including a phased lockdown and a rapid deployment of funds, to curb the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the party if there is a need to give the country a fighting chance to stop the spread of the Coronavirus Pandemic then the government has to the chance and act now adding The window of opportunity, as we have already said, should be measured in days and certainly not weeks.”
Member of the response Technical Team by the opposition NDC, Hon. Cassiel Ato Forson, MP for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam and former Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning at a press encounter in Accra, Tuesday, March 24, 2020 stated that “But these or any other proposals will require the rapid deployment of funds to procure needed equipment and supplies; improve awareness and accelerate our readiness; reinforce the healthcare system; establish a morally sound safety net for the vulnerable; and safeguard our economy & enterprises against the inevitable shocks. We must be able to use those funds in response to the evolving situation in the interest of the nation, which requires us to also have great flexibility to reassess and reprioritize over the coming weeks”
To him, the party is reliably informed about Government approach to the IMF and World Bank for an amount close to $1 billion adding “We harbour sincere reservations about the wisdom of that course under the time pressures we face… We are reliably informed - and the government is aware - that any such facility would not be available to us until the second or third week of April.”
Read full report of Hon. Ato Forson
To be effective at implementing solutions to any of the measures outlined by my colleagues in a timely manner - and if we are to give ourselves a fighting chance - we will have to act now. The window of opportunity, as we have already said, should be measured in days and certainly not weeks.
But these or any other proposals will require the rapid deployment of funds to procure needed equipment and supplies; improve awareness and accelerate our readiness; reinforce the healthcare system; establish a morally sound safety net for the vulnerable; and safeguard our economy & enterprises against the inevitable shocks. We must be able to use those funds in response to the evolving situation in the interest of the nation, which requires us to also have great flexibility to reassess and reprioritize over the coming weeks.
We are aware that our Government has approach the IMF and World Bank for an amount close to $1 billion. We harbour sincere reservations about the wisdom of that course under the time pressures we face. We are reliably informed - and the government is aware - that any such facility would not be available to us until the second or third week of April.
That timeline is constrained by the meeting schedule of the boards of the respective organisations and the processes involved in receiving the funds even under emergency approval. Our current state of readiness and the exponential growth of the plague we are fighting suggests that we cannot wait that long.
It is with this in mind that my colleagues and I wish to propose an alternative strategy that would avail Ghana immediately of the needed resources to drastically escalate our readiness and resilience.
We humbly appeal to Government to amend the proposed utilization of the $3 billion Eurobond proceeds to make funds available to cater for COVID-19 related expenses and the possible adverse economic shocks that may occur.
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