IMF bailout: Free SHS, other flagship programmes non-negotiable - Akufo-Addo insists

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has insisted that all the flagship programmes his government is implementing will not be affected by the negotiations the government is having with the IMF to get a bailout.

The president said that these programmes, which include the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme, will not be affected because they are central

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Speaking in an interview on GBC’s URA radio in Bolgatanga during a tour of the Upper East Region, Akufo-Addo said: “(the flagship programmes) are the heart of government works over the last five years.

“We have made it clear to everybody that they [government’s flagship programmes] are non-negotiable in terms of our public expenditure,” he reiterated.

In particular, on the Free SHS programme, the president said that he agrees with the initial assessment of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the programme is important and cannot be ‘sacrificed’.

“I agree in the same direction (with IMF) and I am very confident that these programmes, especially, Free SHS and TVET ... will be intact,” he added.

Many Ghanaians, including leading members of the ruling New Patriotic Party, have called on the government to review its social intervention policies, particularly the Free SHS.

Former Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah, said that the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) has to be reviewed in order to help the government save some resources.

He said that the government should consider scrapping the boarding component of the programme.

"...Why should we be paying for boarding facilities and the rest? So, we can shape the Free SHS somewhat. You have the Free SHS bill of GH¢1.9 billion a year if you can save let’s say GH¢400 million a year that’s huge,” Assibey Yeboah, who is a former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP), said.

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