Since 2020, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that the country has spent approximately GHC17.7 billion to combat the COVID-19 epidemic.
“In all, data from the Ministry of Finance tells us that an amount of GHC17.7 billion (or 4.6 percent of GDP) has been spent in containing the epidemic since 2020,” the president stated in his State of the Nation speech to Parliament on today, Wednesday, March 30 at the floor of parliament.
COVID-19’s economic destruction, according to Akufo-Addo, has been exacerbated since the beginning of this year by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has damaged the global economic outlook.
He said, “We, in Ghana, have not escaped this development, and the consequences are being felt in rising living costs at our markets and at fuel stations.”
“The terrible events in Ukraine have a direct impact on our lives here in Ghana. Mr. Speaker, 30% of our wheat flour and fertilizer imports come from Russia. 60% of iron rods and other metal sheets are imported from Ukraine, and almost 20% of Ghana’s manganese is shipped to Ukraine,” he added.
“The bombs might be dropping on cities half a world away but they are hitting our pockets here in Ghana. Even so, we have managed to ensure that fuel supplies have not been disrupted, unlike in several other parts of the world”, the President said.
Source: Opemsuo.com/ Emmanuel Owusu Anti
