Whereabouts Of Ghc21billion COVID-19 Money Becomes a mystery

After the debate on the Mid-year Budget presented to Parliament on Thursday, July 29, 2021, by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrissu, expressed shock over the government’s announcement that it had spent a whopping Ghc21billion on fighting COVID-19.

According to the Minority Leader, the figures are baffling, given the fact that less than 2% of Ghanaians have been vaccinated and that such an amount should have acquired some significant doses of the vaccine.

Hon. Iddrissu had demanded answers and almost a week after the demand was made, the government has remained mum over the issue.

Ghc21 billion, if properly applied, could have vaccinated all the 30 million people of Ghana and still be left with billions in change, the Minority claims.

And their argument has been bolstered by the fact that apart from the Ghc21billion that came in by way of loans and grants from multilateral institutions, the country has also received free donations from private philanthropists including Ali Baba’s owner, Jack Ma.

The government also made sure to impose one of the highest fees for COVID-19 testing at the Kotoka International Airport (US$150 per test).

“Mr. Speaker, it is only Ghana which has spent a whopping 21 Billion Ghana Cedis on COVID, yet less than 5% of its population is vaccinated. Where did the money go? You took money in the name of COVID, whether World Bank Rapid Credit Facility or money from the Stabilization Fund and or other loans that you have taken; you have spent over 20 Billion; yet only 405,000 Ghanaians can boast that they have been vaccinated fully. What did you do with the money?” Iddrissu queried. 

“Yet in many other regions of Ghana, including six regions, you have not even established isolation and treatment centers; they have no emergencies; they have no oxygen available to them. What did you do with the 21 Billion, yet the population cannot be vaccinated?” 

Some 405,000 Ghanaians is less than 2% of the Ghanaian population which is estimated to be over 30 million. If the government claims to have spent Ghc21billion on COVID thus far and less than 2% of the population has been vaccinated, then logically, it appears by the time all the population is vaccinated the country would have spent trillions of cedis, the Minority leader argued.

“Mr. Speaker, when COVID came, the strategy medically to contain the public health epidemic was to test, isolate and treat. Now the world has learnt its lesson. The lesson is that a vaccinated population is less likely to be prone to COVID infections. So, why do you spend 21 Billion Ghana Cedis, and yet you cannot even boast of 1.5 million Ghanaians having access to the vaccines…?” Haruna Iddrissu asked.