Government has kept the nation afloat in the pandemic – Akosua Manu

Government has kept the nation afloat in the pandemic – Akosua Manu

A communication team member of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Akosua Manu, has indicated that in spite of global economic difficulties in the midst of the pandemic, the country has still kept its heads above sinking waters.

She said the world was hard hit by the devastating effect of the pandemic, yet the Akufo-Addo government was considerate in implementing policies that alleviated the suffering of the masses and in spite presented a decent 2021 mid-year budget review.

The coronavirus pandemic that broke out in 2019, saw a drop in the productivity of businesses that also resulted in a cut-down of their labor force.

Ghana has had its share as there was a strict lockdown for a three-week and businesses completely shut making it difficult for the average Ghanaian to make a daily living.

Government introduced pragmatic measures and other alleviation programs that brought some relief.

The spokesperson for the NPP government reiterated on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana, Monday, that the effects of the pandemic cannot be overlooked indicating that the IMF even saw a drop in its projections touting the pandemic as one of the greatest disasters that have ever hit the world.

“One of the things that we seem to forget is that we are still in a pandemic. Truth be told; I think, the IMF forecasted a 3 . 4% growth for 2019 but what we actually saw was a decline of 6.7%. Actually, it has been compared to the recession just after World War II and it’s been described as one of the worst ever. And you can’t discount the impact of that. It’s a global recession,” she noted.

Providing a highlight of the budget review, Akosua Manu said, the document sought to present the realities of the day.

“Now what a mid-year budget seeks to do is to educate on where we are and where we are going.”

“We have already done the budget reading for the first quarter of the year. Two things stood out for me in the budget and I think for everybody else. I think people breathed a huge sigh of relief when they realized no new taxes are going to be introduced which is very important,” she stressed.

Ms. Manu reminded the public of the President’s modest words in tackling the issues of the pandemic saying “I think that on 27th of March 2020 when the President said and I quote “I assure you that we know how to bring the economy back to life but what we do not know is how to bring people back to life. We, therefore, protect lives and livelihood”.

“But I think that we didn’t fully grasp that concept. Government is still the largest employer. People didn’t lose their jobs. People were not even going to work but people still got salaries. People haven’t been laid off in the hundreds and thousands like we are seeing in other parts of the world,” she added.

 

By: Ernest Tetteh Kabu | Metrotvonline.com | Ghana

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