<<Print>>

The National Communication Director of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has reacted to the ongoing scrutiny of the government following the release of an audit of the country’s COVID-19 expenditure.

The NPP communication director said that Ghanaians can talk about the government’s COVID-19 expenditure only because the pandemic did not destroy the country.

In a tweet shared on Monday, January 23, 2023, Ahiagbah commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for seeing the country through the pandemic and urged Ghanaians not to forget how the country survived the pandemic.

“It's possible today to discuss Covid-19 expenditure because Ghana made it through in one piece. Thank God & the people-centred leadership of the Akufo Addo govt. So, let's count the cost, but let's not forget how we pulled through,” parts of his tweet read.

An audit report on the government of Ghana’s COVID-19 expenditure has shown that nearly 50 per cent of the money the state mobilised to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country was used for budget support and not issues related to the outbreak.

The report, which was prepared by the Auditor General Department, indicated that the government raised nearly GH¢22 billion, as of June 2022, to fight COVID-19 in Ghana through the Contingency Fund, the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Union (EU).

However, out of the total amount raised to fight COVID-19 only about GH¢12 billion (a little over 50 percent of the total funds raised) was used for activities geared toward fighting the spread of the virus and its impact in Ghana.