According to Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, during the Covid-19 shutdown in Greater Accra, Kasoa, and Greater Kumasi, the government served hot meals to a total of 2,744,723 people.
The Minister stated this was accomplished through the assistance for households programmes, which had a budget allocation of 1.718 billion, of which 1.550 billion was used, in a speech to the House of Representatives on Wednesday, June 22.
Mr. Ofori-Atta provided a more detailed accounting of how the money was used, stating that "a total value of 12.1 million was utilised for the distribution of the packaged hot food throughout Accra, Tema, Kasoa and Greater Kumasi."
"This covers the price of NADMO's food delivery services in select Greater Kumasi areas. The spending for the provision of hot meals during the lockdown serviced around 2,744,723 individuals for the time of the lockdown at a unit cost of ¢4.32.”
The Minister further added that as part of the help to homes, the Water and Sanitation Ministry and the Ghana Water Company Limited supplied free water for an initial period between April and September, 2020.
The free water supply for all lifeline customers has been extended through December 2020 as a result of an executive order.
"Amounts of $556 million were allocated for this initiative in 2020, of which $456 million were used. A total of $200 million was allotted in 2021. Out of this amount, 143 million were used to provide free water and power to lifeline customers.
The government has also included funding in the budget for lifeline clients to get free electricity, in addition to paying half of all power bills for all residential and business customers.
“A total expenditure of ¢1,039 million was utilised for the policy from April to September 2020,” he stated.
Transparency
Claims that the government has not been open about its Covid-19 expenditures were refuted by the finance minister.
He said all programmed, mobilised and utilised money relevant to the coronavirus pandemic have been dully reported in keeping with the government’s commitment to accountability and openness.
"Mr. Speaker, at this point, I want to refute the claim that Covid-19 government data has been inconsistent. The President hinted that we have mobilised over Gh17.7 billion since 2020 to combat the epidemic during the State of the Nation Address on March 30, 2022.
"We later harmonised the statistics, and I can now say that as of the end of May 2022, we had mobilised Gh18.19 billion to lessen the pandemic's impact. Again, as I've already stated, the Vice President's statement that the government had spent Gh8.1 billion on Covid-19 on April 7, 2022 at the National TESCON Conference was made in the context of expenditures for 2020, the Minister said.
According to him, the government has also allocated a total of GH 875 million for security operations, the evacuation of Ghanaians stuck overseas, and the coordination of cleaning and disinfection training for MMDAs.
He also said that the government has adopted programmes to revive the economy and safeguard employment as part of efforts to stabilise the economy in the wake of the disastrous effects of the Covid-19 outbreak.
This includes the GH600 million used by the NBSSI, now Ghana Enterprises Agency, under the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support Scheme (CAPBuSS) (GEA).