Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta says the management of the Covid-19 outbreak has not been easy for the government of Ghana, businesses and Ghanaians in general.
The Minister delivering the 2022 budget statement on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, said the outbreak of the virus hit businesses hard because the cost of shipping went high affecting small and medium scale enterprises.
He said the pandemic had forced businesses to bear the high cost of shipping, a situation making the lives of traders ”very difficult”.
He indicated that the government had been there with the people in these difficult times of managing an economy that was under extreme stress due to the pandemic.
The response to Covid-19 he argued has been globally acclaimed as one of the best.
He said it has not been easy, but the government has provided some measures to address the challenges.
”Mr. Speaker, the spiraling costs of shipping have hit businesses hard, particularly small and medium scale enterprises. SMEs have had to struggle with the economic fallout from the pandemic and furthermore they are now being forced to cope with the rising cost of shipping. This is making the lives of traders and consumers very difficult.
The hardship Ghanaians have experienced due to COVID is not lost on the Government. We have been there with the people, playing the difficult but necessary balancing act of managing an economy put under extreme distress by the pandemic and, at the same time, supporting households and businesses to cope. Our response to COVID 19 thus far, has earned domestic and worldwide acclaim as our President and his Fellow Ghanaians will attest to.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
