President Akufo-Addo has revealed that as part of measures by government to “hasten economic recovery from the ravages of Covid-19”, it has incurred a fiscal impact of ¢27.3 billion Cedis.
According to him, this represents 6.8% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Over the past year, in particular, Government has implemented a number of policies and programmes all in an attempt to hasten economic recovery from the ravages of Covid-19.
We have introduced measures to improve fiscal consolidation and ensure debt sustainability, which is critical to achieving macroeconomic stability in the short to medium-term. These measures, such as the passage of the E-Levy Bill, have not been introduced in isolation.
They have come on the back of a revenue loss of ¢13.1 billion, and increased, unbudgeted expenditure of GH¢14.2 billion.
There is, thus, an overall fiscal impact of some ¢27.3 billion, representing 6.8% of GDP” he explained.
The President made this revelation while addressing the country on the occasion of this year’s Labour Day Celebrations.
This year’s May Day celebration was held under the theme, “Protecting Jobs and Incomes in the era of Covid-19 and Beyond.”
Annually, the Day is globally set aside to recognise the efforts of workers and honour their contribution to the productivity in the country.
The impact of Covid-19 notwithstanding, President Akufo-Addo reiterated the commitment of government to make life more convenient for workers in the country.
In this regard, the President highlighted a plethora of other measures, which he believes will make life more comfortable for the thousands of workers in the country.
“I am also happy to announce that, following the National Labour Conference at Kwahu, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations and its tripartite partners have set up, as of Tuesday, April 26, a technical committee to review the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) and advise Government accordingly.
The goal is to find out whether the Single Spine Pay Policy is living up to expectations, and, if not, find a way forward.
I sincerely hope that the outcome of that review, which is expected to be ready in July, will help us put an end to most of the unrest we see on the labour front involving public sector workers”, Akufo-Addo said.
In his concluding remarks, the President noted that “in all of this, we must not lose sight of our overarching vision, which is to build a Ghana Beyond Aid.
I remain confident that we can free ourselves from a mindset of dependence, aid, charity and handouts, and build a self-reliant economy which will mobilise the immense resources of Ghana, material and human, with women and youth at the forefront, to resolve Ghana’s problems, and deliver a decent, dignified standard of living to the working people of our country,” he urged.
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