Ghana’s Finance Minister Mr.Ken Ofori-Atta has warned that his country’s revenue from crude oil is poised to take a huge hit due to the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic which has killed over 50, 000 people worldwide.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of a three-day clean up exercise in Accra and the second city Kumasi which commenced on Friday, Mr. Ofori Atta said “clearly as we look at the economy with this external shock, we are going to lose a lot of oil revenues.”
He said as a result of that the government was in the process of accessing a billion dollar credit facility to cushion the economy.
“The president declared that we should find $100m for this, we had our own resources as a government because we have been very successful in raising 3 billion dollars from the Euro-bond” he said.
According to him, “as minister of Finance anytime there is an opportunity you have to find other ways of supplementing this money”.
He assured Ghanaians that Ghana was secure financially to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
“We also then started talking with the World Bank COVID-19 assistance program and we have successfully secured the $100 million in which $65 million came last Monday. Parliament has passed the $35 million bill and so that will also come. So we are really secure in the sense of preparedness to be able to go forward,” he added.
The price of oil has sunk to levels not seen since 2002 as demand for crude collapsed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Crude oil analysts are saying if the Covid-19 pandemic persists for long the Ghanaian government would be unable to raise the money needed to finance its flagship free Senior High School programme.
Presently Ghana is on partial lockdown in some parts of Greater Accra, Ashanti Region and Kasoa in the Central Region to control the spread of the disease.
The partial lockdown in these areas entered its fifth day on Friday and residents are already feeling the brunt of the restriction.
Ghana has so far recorded 204 confirmed Covid-19 cases with five deaths and 49 recoveries.
DAP/as/APA