Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta says the government is working to roll out unemployment benefits for Ghanaians soon.
According to him, the move has been influenced by how conditions of some workers have been affected because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“As a responsible society we should have such a program to cushion Ghanaians when needed,” he said.
Why this program and how it would be financed?
Speaking on PM Express on JOY NEWS the Minister said the fine details would be announced in the Mid-Year Budget Review set to be presented to Parliament on July 23 2020.
He stated that this assistance is needed to support those workers that had been impacted by coronavirus.
Mr. Ofori-Atta maintains that as a government they are committed to offering some assistance vulnerable in society.
However, a major concern would be how this program would be financed.
Stimulus Package for businesses and Industries.
The minister also noted that the government would roll out another set of stimulus package for businesses.
This should be captured under its Covid-19 Alleviation program, which would be coming out with policies and programs that would fast track the economic recovery.
The minister was of the view this program would also help mitigate the impact of COVID 19 on the economy.
The government earlier this year rolled out its much talked about ¢1 billion stimulus package for small businesses.
This was aimed at assisting small firms that have been badly hit by the coronavirus.
The next round of stimulus package according to the minister, would target large firms in the country.
COVID 19 and Economy
The Finance Minister noted that the current state of the economy showed demonstrated some level of resilience even in the midst of Covid-19.
Mr. Ken Ofori- Atta cites the current inflation rate and Cedis performance as evidence that shows that the economy is resilient even at this time.
Ghana’s economy is projected to grow by about 1.5% according to the Minister.
However, the Bank of Ghana is more optimistic about growth this year as it has projected a little over 2% growth for the country before the end of 2020.
