Parents and guardians who have their wards in Senior High Schools and and the recently graduated BECE candidate and yet to be posted to various SHS are to prepare to pay partial fees as government has announced plans to review the Free SHS policy amidst collapsing economy.
This comes as government look for solutions to help hold the economy back from collapsing. The Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, yesterday announced that, all 16 flagship programmes of government will soon be reviewed to ensure their objectives are well achieved.
According to him, it is one of the decisions taken during the three-day cabinet retreat at the Peduase Lodge in the Eastern Region to mitigate the economic difficulties in the country.
Currently, the country is experiencing hikes in fuel prices and the growing depreciation of the cedi, adversely affecting the cost of goods and services.
But Mr Oppong Nkrumah says the review of the programmes, among others, will help the government take some expenditure cuts.
“All the 16 flagship programmes are up to be looked at. The President has directed that the flagship programmes should be protected and fully implemented to ensure that the impact is achieved. However, he wants it done within the constraints of item number two, which is the fiscal framework we are working with.
“If based on the caps that we are working with we will have to rescope a particular flagship programme, we will do it and see how much we can achieve. So all the 16 are up for discussion; none is off-limit.
“Only that the President has laid down the red line that we will not compromise on the fiscal consolidation agenda because our real problem over the years has been a year-on-year deficit going out of hand,” he said in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM, Monday.
Meanwhile, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, is expected to address the nation this week to communicate key measures taken by the government amid the current challenges.
A statement issued by the Information Ministry hinted that the update will include the reopening of land borders, the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, and measures to arrest the depreciating cedi.
“President Akufo-Addo approved a number of far-reaching measures aimed at mitigating the depreciation of the cedi, ensuring expenditure discipline and providing relief in the face of the global fuel price hikes and inflation as well as ensuring that priority programmes meant to grow the economy are protected.
“Government appreciates the efforts of all who contributed to a successful retreat and looks forward to the support of all Ghanaians in implementing the agreed measures,” the statement added.
