Ken Ofori-Atta, Finance Minister, has said the speech delivered by President Akufo-Addo on April 5, in a broadcast to the nation, has reassured citizens in the fight against Coronavirus.
According to Finance Minister Ofori-Atta, the speech removed any premonition of ‘sinking into Dante’s Inferno’ and reassured the nation that we indeed have a wartime leader, ‘our Moses, to lead us to the Promised Land’.
“Mr Speaker, the President’s address calmed the nation; removed any premonition of sinking into a Dante’s Inferno and reassured us that we indeed have a wartime leader, our Moses, to lead us to the promised land: a leader one can trust, a leader who we can pray and work with, a leader who will turn this ‘misadventure’ into a new vibrant industrial landscape.”
“But all of us as citizens must pull in one direction; we must hold up his hands to inspire us to defeat this virus. The Lord will make a way in this desert as he unfolds a new thing for the nation as stated in Isaiah 43.”
The Finance Minister said this in a statement to Parliament, April 8 when he submitted a request to the Finance Committee to grant the authorization to access the requisite amounts from the Contingency Fund to fight coronavirus.
President Akufo-Addo, earlier, directed the Minister for Finance to prepare, for approval by Parliament, a Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP) to mitigate the disruption to economic activities on Ghanaians.
He further asked the Minister for Finance to immediately make available a minimum of GH¢1 billion to households and businesses, particularly micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as part of the initiative.
