Our economy couldn’t withstand lockdown beyond 3 weeks – Finance Minister

The Minister of Finance has admitted that it was practically impossible for government to sustain Ghana’s economy following the imposition of a partial lockdown.

Ken Ofori-Atta explained that this is largely due to the fact that majority of the country’s population are in the informal sector.

He said, after three weeks under a partial lockdown, government was left with little choice than to lift the lockdown due to its impact on the economy.

“When you look at what happened during the lockdown. It was quite clear after a point that given the 90% of our population is informal and they go out each day to earn wages, it became increasingly impossible to continue with such a policy,” Mr. Ofori-Atta said while speaking at the Jubilee House.

President Akufo-Addo initially imposed a two-week partial lockdown in Accra, Tema, Kasoa and Kumasi, as part of measures to curb the spread of the Coronavirus.

The lockdown was extended by another week, but has since been lifted by the President, with Ghana’s economic growth expected to see its least growth in 37 years.

The country is also set to record a significant drop in revenue target for 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

To mitigate the impact of the pandemic, a Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP) has been established to facilitate economic recovery.