The Ghanaian government has announced free electricity to consumers for the remaining months of the year as part of the Coronavirus Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprises Support (CARES) programme,
Ghana’s Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, who announced this on the floor of Parliament on Thursday in Accra, said that all life-line customers would enjoy free electricity for the rest of the year.
Ofori-Atta told the lawmakers that water would be provided for free in the next three months and that these programmes are captured under the government’s Ghana Coronavirus Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprises Support (CARES).
According to the minister, the CARES Programme will also led to the reduction of the Communications Service Tax (CST) from 9% to 5% for the next six months.
Local media reports quoted the minister as saying in Parliament on Thursday that the government would establish a GH¢2 billion Guarantee Facility to support all sectors of business and job retention.
The reports added that these CARES programmes announced by the minister were part of the mid-year budget review of the finance minister to the Parliamentarians, in which he said that an investment of GH¢100 billion would be made from 2021 to 2023 and that GH¢70 billion would come from the private sector.
According to the minister, these measures will “ensure that we do not only survive this pandemic, but recover and thrive, this Government is rolling out a three-and-a-half-year recovery and revitalization programme”.
GIK/APA