Mr. Patrick Yaw Boamah, Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central, has stated that the government will be steadfast in defending the implementation of its major social intervention policies, including the free senior high school policy, as it seeks financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund.
According to the lawmaker, the IMF has not raised the issue of the implementation of the free SHS policy.
He stated that the IMF had told the government that whether they would add to their recommendation for the free SHS to be affected by the free SHS, “the IMF says, we are not there yet.”
“I would like to reassure Ghanaians that the discussion on green SHS with the IMF is currently off the table. The government would also stand firm in defending social intervention programs such as free SHS and the National Health Insurance Scheme.”
He claimed that the current government’s decision to seek an IMF bailout was vastly different from previous ones.
He told Kwabena Agyapong on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm’s Frontline that Ghana is going to the IMF under this administration at a time when the world is dealing with a global pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine war.
He pointed out that the government spent more than 90 billion Ghana cedis on Covid-19, which was an unplanned expense.
Meanwhile, we must review our spending in the future, which is something the government is doing. We can’t just blame Covid-19 and the Russian Ukraine war; we need discipline, and the government has demonstrated that commitment by cutting back on spending.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
