US$100M War Chest Against Corona Virus Is From Common Fund And Donors

Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has explained that the US$100million that President Akufo-Addo has ordered to be set aside to build Ghana’s response system for a possible corona virus infections in Ghana are from two sources.

According to him, the money is partly form the Consolidated Fund and partly from donors.

“The central government is working with development partners and Consolidated Fund Managers to appropriate that amount of money to be used for  the various interventions that the President has been outlining,” Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said.

It is not clear what the percentages of cash outlay from government and the outlay from the donors are.

President Akufo-Addo yesterday announced the package in a televised broadcast to the nation.

According to him, the amount “is to fund the expansion of infrastructure, purchase of materials, equipment and public education.”

He adds that he has ordered for measures to be tightened including the suspension of all international travel.

 “I have, as at yesterday, ordered a suspension of all international travels by public officials.

“Except for critical assignments, which will have to be authorised by the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President, all public officials are to remain within the jurisdiction, until further notice. Video conferencing facilities and other technological tools are to be utilised, whenever possible, for international engagements,” the president added.

Government, he said, has also started to tighten the existing check points as precautionary measure.

So far, Ghana has tested 57 suspected cases of the deadly virus, and all have turned out negative.

Entry points, such as airports and land borders continue to show satisfactory preparedness to screen all entrants into the country, with the Ministry of Health designating a quarantine facility that can hold infected persons, whilst regional hospitals are preparing isolation centres for holding suspected cases, the President said.

“Our country’s two main research institutions, the Noguchi Memorial Institute and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research, which have the capacity to investigate and confirm or otherwise suspected cases of Coronavirus infections, have been very supportive in this regard. So far, they have found that the fifty-seven (57) suspected cases, as of today, Wednesday, 11th March, have proved negative,” he said.