SONA 2023: Covid-19 funds were not misused – President Akufo-Addo

President Nana Akufo-Addo has rejected claims that the government misused Covid-19 funds.

The Minority in Parliament and some critics have called for accountability concerning the expenditure to curb the pandemic.

However, President Akufo-Addo has reiterated that the government was prudent in using the funds.

Delivering a State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, he said:

“Mr Speaker, it is precisely because the economic fallout from the pandemic is so widespread and long-lasting that it is important to show clearly that the Covid-19 funds were not misused.”

The president added that nothing dishonourable was done with the funds, contrary to assertions that the government misappropriated funds intended for the country’s fight against Covid-19.

“The responses from the ministers for health and finance, on January 23 and 25, 2023, respectively, have sufficiently laid to rest the queries from the Auditor General’s report, and I believe any objective scrutiny of these statements from the health and finance ministries would justify this conclusion,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo rejected the violations cited in the audit report by the Auditor General.

The report suggested that the Ministry of Health improperly compensated its employees with GH¢151,500 for COVID-19 insurance while failing to deliver $81 million worth of government-paid vaccines.

The government, through the Ministry of Finance, responded to criticisms following a public outcry by stating that the funds spent on direct Covid-19 interventions and general budget support were in accordance with the mandate approved by Parliament and that of the Public Financial Management Act.

President Akufo-Addo said the government provided GH¢518 million of grants and loans to micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) through the NBSSI, now the Ghana Enterprise Agency, in which 302,515 enterprises benefitted, of which 60% were women-owned.

“These were MSMEs that were in distress as a result of the pandemic. For some traders, the receipt of one thousand cedis (GH¢1,000) made the difference between the ruin of the household and survival”.

Additionally, President Akufo-Addo noted that 58,041 health workers were employed to supplement the existing health sector workforce.

“Subsequently, all of them have been absorbed as permanent workers in the health sector. Frontline health workers were also granted fifty percent (50%) tax relief for the period. Was that something to regret? We should be forever grateful for the work that so many people did to keep all of us safe.

“All households enjoyed free water supply and huge discounts on electricity bills because access to water was a necessity to ensure people adhered to hygiene practices, and access to electricity was important as everybody was encouraged to stay at home. It also provided an economic cushion to protect lives and livelihoods at a time of difficulty.

“Today, the government support for utility bills is being projected by some as a waste or, to use that word, so beloved of some commentators, profligate,” he said.