News Guide Africa

Tag: COVID-19

  • Ghanaian enduring expensive economic recovery – Economist

     

    Prof Godfred Bokpin

     

    Adnan Adams Mohammed

     

    An economist and a Professor at the University of Ghana Business School has shared in pains of Ghanaians for going through an expensive economic recovery.

     

    He explains that although the inflation rate has dropped, it does not mean that prices are reducing. Rather, he said,  it means the rate at which prices are increasing has slowed.

     

    The economist further notes that although Ghana’s economy has witnessed some recovery, it is not yet back to where it was prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Giving an instance that, the current exchange rate does not align with what existed pre-Covid. The private sector has also not recovered yet, he added.

     

     

    “We have turned one corner but there are several corners to be turned. It is going to take us a little while to do that …we are going through an expensive economic recovery”, Prof Godfred Bokpin shared in an interview last week.

     

    Indicating that, interest rate necessary hasn’t come down, we have seen some recovery but we cannot say the economy has received to pre covid level. We are not there yet, there is still a lot we have to do. Even if you look at the interest rate pre-pandemic and after-pandemic, they don’t align.

     

     

    “Inflation may be coming down but it doesn’t mean prices are coming down. So the fact that the rate of inflation has decelerated from 54.1% in December 2022 to 22.1% in October 2024 necessarily does not mean prices, on average, have come down. What it tells us is that prices are increasing but rather at a slower rate,” he said.

     

    His comments come at a time when President Akufo-Addo had said that the economy is recovering.

     

    President Akufo-Addo said this fortnight ago, when he commissioned The Bank Square, the new headquarters of the Bank of Ghana, located in the heart of Accra that “Recent data from the Bank of Ghana shows that Ghana’s economy is firmly on the path of recovery. Provisional GDP growth of 6.9% in the second quarter of 2024, with a robust non-oil growth of 7.0%, highlights the strength of our agriculture, industry, and services sectors.

     

    “Inflation has been sharply reduced from 54.1% in 2022 to 22.1% as of October 2024, bringing relief to households and businesses alike. These achievements are further bolstered by a trade surplus of $2.78 billion and international reserves of $7.5 billion, which provide a strong buffer against external shocks,” he said.

     

    He added “This milestone is a testament to the Bank of Ghana’s commitment to sound monetary policies under the leadership of Governor Ernest Addison and his dedicated team. I applaud their efforts, as well as the creativity and expertise of the architects, engineers, and contractors—especially GoldKey Properties, a wholly Ghanaian entity—that brought this vision to life. Together, we are building a foundation for a resilient economy, inclusive growth, and a brighter future for all Ghanaians.

     

     

    “As we celebrate this achievement, I call on all of us to continue working together to build an economy that is stable, inclusive, and prosperous. The Bank Square is not just a symbol of what we have accomplished; it is an inspiration for what lies ahead. Let us remain united in our efforts to make Ghana great and strong!”

     

     

  • UNESCO and African Union call on leaders to prioritize equal opportunity in education

    UNESCO and African Union call on leaders to prioritize equal opportunity in education

    UNESCO and the African Union urge governments in Africa to place equity at the heart of education policy, to ensure that all children and youth on the continent have access to quality education.

     

    A new report entitled ‘Education in Africa – Placing equity at the heart of policy’, published jointly by UNESCO and the African Union, reveals that although many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are taking significant steps to provide quality education for all, the region has the world’s largest out-of-school population.

     

    One in five children of primary school age and well over half of upper secondary school-age adolescents do not attend school. In about half of African countries, the out-of-school rate among primary school-age children stands at just under 10%, and at over 50% for upper secondary school age students. This rate is increasing in several countries.

     

    “The massive disparities in African education systems require urgent action. We need to provide all African children and youth with a safe, stimulating, and healthy environment in which they can attain their full potential. Transforming education must at the heart of countries’ efforts to build meaningful and sustainable development and economic growth,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.

     

    African children lose out because of multiple factors

     

    The report, which examines education in Africa from early childhood to upper secondary level, sets out the interconnected factors which prevent children from accessing a quality education, among them geographical location, poverty, gender, disability, crises, conflict, and displacement. It shows that in most countries there are wide gulfs in opportunities between children from the wealthiest and poorest households, between children in urban and rural areas, and between boys and girls. About 80% of children in sub-Saharan Africa are still not taught in a language they speak at home, an approach which significantly impedes learning outcomes.

     

    “The concept of equity must become the guideline for African education policies. We need to ensure that every child in rural and disadvantaged urban centres, and in other fragile countries and contexts, is able to receive the education and training they require,” said H.E Professor Mohamed Belhocine, Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the African Union Commission.

     

    Fragile education systems aggravated by COVID-19

     

    African education systems were significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effects on educational attainment, learning outcomes, and disparities in education are still unfolding. Even before the pandemic, only a handful of countries in Africa were on track to meet the UN sustainable development goals on education.

     

    The report calls on governments to strengthen education systems’ resilience to future crises, by developing flexible forms of teaching, by scaling up the use of digital technology, and by improving data collection to better inform policy planning.

     

    It proposes a series of recommendations to addressing the barriers to inclusion, such as making secondary education compulsory, building more schools, developing adapted curricula, improving the quality of teachers, and providing financial and academic assistance to children.

     

    ***

    This first joint publication builds on a study conducted by UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning to review the advances made by African countries to reach the goals set out in the Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2016-2025 and SDG4. The launch of the report was held at the African Union’s Heads of States Summit, during a high-level discussion co-hosted by the African Union and UNESCO on Saturday 18 February 2023. The event was honoured by the participation of the of Presidents of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Republic of Sierra Leone, as well as the Ministers of Education of Republic of Kenya and Sierra Leone (the latter as moderator).

    **

    Full  ‘Education in Africa – Placing equity at the heart of policy’

    Executive summaries

    Q&A: How are African countries improving the quality of their education?

  • Expedite public hearings on the Special Audit Report into COVID-19 expenditures – NDC to PAC

    Adnan Adams Mohammed

     

    The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (PAC) to expedite its public hearings on this Special Audit Report into COVID-19 expenditures.

     

    Leadership of the largest opposition party wants the hearing televised live for the Ghanaian public to follow and be apprised of how their government expended COVID-19 funds.

     

    Addressing journalist in its first ‘Moment of Truth’ press conference, the party further urge Parliament to compel the Auditor-General to exercise his power of surcharge and disallowance to retrieve all COVID-19 funds that have been misapplied or misused through various infractions and veritable acts of criminality.

     

    “We call on the Special Prosecutor to investigate all Ministers and public officials who have been cited in the report for wrongdoing and bring them to book”, Lawyer Sammy Gyemfi stressed when he addressed the media at the party’s head office.

     

    “President Akufo-Addo must immediately fire the Minister of Finance, his Health Minister, Kweku Agyemang Menu, the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the CEO of the National Food Buffer Stock Company and all other officials who have been cited in the report for violating the laws of the country in their expenditure of COVID-19 funds.”

     

    READ FULL STATEMENT BELOW:

     

    A MOMENT OF TRUTH PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER OF THE NDC, COMRADE SAMMY GYMAFI ESQ. ON THE AUDITOR GENERAL’S REPORT ON GOVERNMENT’S COVID-19 EXPENDITURES.

     

    1st February, 2023.

     

    Good morning, distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the media.

     

    We are highly pleased to have you here in your numbers, as we resume full duties under our ‘Moment of Truth’ series. We wish to assure you of our commitment to serve you with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth in these engagements.

     

    Friends from the media, we should like to believe, that by now, you all in the media have sighted the report of the Auditor-General on a special audit conducted by his office into the COVID-19 expenditures of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government for the period, March 2020 to June 2022.

     

    In the very recent past, you have seen calls by the Minority in Parliament, the NDC and other well-meaning Ghanaians for accountability relative to COVID expenditures being met with fierce opposition from the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government. Indeed, you all will bear witness to the fact that, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has been as scared and petrified about calls for an audit into COVID-19 expenditures, as an old lady would be over the mention of dry bones.

     

    Today, it has become apparent that behind that morbid fear of accountability, was an attempt to conceal from the Ghanaian people, what some of us have always known to be stinking rot, high-profile corruption, naked thievery and the misuse of COVID funds by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government. As it is often said, the chickens are finally come home to roost through this special audit report, which in our opinion is a highly charitable and watered down account of how COVID-19 funds have been expended by government.

     

    The report nonetheless reveals jaw-dropping details of how various officials and assigns of this government misapplied, misused and in some cases, wilfully looted the unprecedented resource envelope that accrued to the NPP-Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government for the management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

     

    The Auditor-General’s report reveals that, by the kind courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghana benefitted immensely from unprecedented inflow of funds from various sources, such as the World Bank, the International Monitory Fund, the Africa Development Bank, the European Union, the Contingency Fund and the sale of BOG-COVID-19 Bonds among others. These funds, the report estimates to amount to a total of Twenty-One Billion, Eight-hundred and forty-four million, One-hundred and eighty-nine thousand, one-hundred and eighty-five Ghana Cedis, twenty-four pesewas (GHS 21,844,189,185.24).

     

    We must emphasize here, that this amount excludes other COVID-related funds such as the $1 Billion facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), being Ghana’s share of the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to boost post-COVID economic recovery of member countries. The Auditor-General’s estimate also excludes the over GHS62 million that accrued to the COVID-19 Trust Fund which was established by an Act of Parliament to help mobilize funds to complement government’s fight against the pandemic.

     

    These notwithstanding, the report observed that out of the total amount of GHS21.8 billion that accrued to the Government of Ghana, only GHS11, 750,683,059.11 was spent on COVID-19 activities, while the rest of the money (precisely GHS10, 093,506,126.13) was spent on so-called “budget support”.  The animal call “budget support” as we would later realize, was the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government’s euphemism for their reckless and wasteful election-driven expenses which resulted in an unprecedented budget deficit of 15.7% in the year 2020.

     

    We shall now discuss fifteen (15) key highlights of the shocking revelations contained in the Auditor General’s report on government’s COVID-19 expenditures:

     

    1. Firstly, the Auditor-General’s report details how the Ministry of Health paid a total of US$120,192,379.80 to UNICEF for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines but only received vaccines valued at US$38,322,000.00, with a whopping $81.8 million of the transaction unaccounted for.

     

    This, ladies and gentlemen, raises serious concerns given the history of the current Minister of Health, under whose watch Ghana entered into the dubious Sputnik V vaccine contract and paid a colossal amount of money for vaccines which were never supplied.

     

    It would be recalled how the government of Ghana, led by the Health Minister, Kweku Agyemang Menu, chose to pay $19 per dose of Sputnik V vaccine through a phony middleman called Sheik Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum of the UAE, when Ghana could have easily bought these vaccines directly from the Russian government at a unit cost of $10 or less.

     

    Fellow countrymen and women, we in the NDC are very concerned, that despite the dire economic crises confronting the nation, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has neglected and/or failed to retrieve the outstanding amount of $81.8 million, which could have been channeled into other developmental ventures to ameliorate the plight of suffering Ghanaians.

     

    1. Secondly, the Auditor-General’s report reveals how the Ministry of Health recklessly paid an amount of GHS10,309,919.94 as premium for Special Life Insurance Cover for 10,000 frontline Health Workers without any Life Insurance Policy document and beneficiary list.

     

    We find it intriguing, how such a huge life insurance premium was arrived at without a beneficiary list detailing names of beneficiaries, their dates of birth and other relevant information  which should have formed the very basis of the premium.

     

    This reckless misuse of COVID-19 funds by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government does not come to us as a surprise, given the fact that the insurance company that got 30% of the booty is Enterprise Insurance, a company closely associated with the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta. It is a known fact within the insurance fraternity, that Enterprise Insurance on whose board the wife of the Finance Minister, Angela Ofori Atta sits, today enjoys unfettered control over government insurances, as typified by this very questionable arrangement.

     

    1. Thirdly, friends from the media, the Auditor-General’s report avers that a contractor who has been awarded a contract at Nalerigu in the North East Region to build a holding, treatment and isolation centre, worth US$15,000,000.00, abandoned the project after receiving advance payment amounting to US$4,500,000.00.

     

    It is sad to note that this colossal amount was paid without the contractor submitting any performance bond or guarantee whatsoever as best practice demands. This is a clear case of financial loss to the Ghanaian taxpayer and must not go unpunished.

     

    1. Friends from the media, the Auditor-General’s report also details how the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Health paid an amount of US$607,419.02 in the year 2022 for the supply of twenty six (26) Toyota Hiace Deluxe Ambulances valued at a total cost of US$4,049,460.12. According to the Auditor General, the delivery date of the said ambulances was 15th January, 2022. However, one year down the line, these ambulances are yet to be delivered.

     

    The irony here, ladies and gentlemen, is that, the man at the center of this scandal, Health Minister Kweku Agyemang Manu, is currently in court as the state’s principal witness in a case brought against the former Deputy Finance Minister, Hon. Ato Forson.

     

    The crux of the case against Hon. Ato Forson is that, he was allegedly involved in the issuance of Letters of Credit for the supply of some ambulances in the past, which ambulances were duly supplied and delivered only to be abandoned by this Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government. In the instant case, friends from the media, under the watch of Kweku Agyemang Manu, it remains to be seen whether the said twenty six (26) ambulances will arrive in Ghana at all. The future, they say, is pregnant.

     

    1. Still on various losses occasioned the Ghanaian tax payer, the Auditor-General’s report uncovers how medical equipment valued at US$110,088.00 and GHS27,895.00 were issued to a private hospital in Madina which did not serve as a COVID-19 isolation centre and did not receive any COVID-19 patient. This is a clear case of misapplication of COVID-19 resources and highlights how COVID funds and equipment were shared wantonly like groundnuts to cronies of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government instead of being used to protect lives.

     

    1. In similar vein, the Auditor-General’s report reveals how medical equipment valued at US$247,404.79, which were procured and received at the Central Medical Stores and subsequently issued to some specific health facilities, did not reach the health facilities.

     

    This ladies and gentlemen, to all intents and purposes was a create, loot and share arrangement in which officials of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government created schemes and procured medical equipment for personal gain under the guise of fighting COVID-19 instead of saving lives.

     

    1. The free-for-all abuse of COVID-19 funds as gleaned from the Auditor-General’s report took the form of various shady schemes. One of such underhand dealings was the case of over-invoicing by the the National Food Buffer Stock Company. The Auditor General found that between April 2020 and September, 2020, the company received three payments totaling GHS42,237,770.00, whereas waybills from various institutions which received these supplies amounted to only GHS40,831,685.00, thereby leading to over-invoicing of GHS1,406,085.00.

     

    Regrettably, instead of exercising his power to surcharge and disallow those responsible, the Auditor-General feebly prefers to as it were “recommend” to the CEO of the National Food Buffer Stock Company to refund the excess amount paid to the company.

     

    This, we find very objectionable from the report. We hereby serve notice to the CEO of the Buffer Stock Company to in his own interest refund the said funds immediately or consider himself a candidate for prosecution when power changes hands.

     

    1. Friends from the media, one of the most bizarre findings of the Auditor-General had to do with cash payments by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection totaling GH11,999,444.00 to caterers who provided hot meals during the three-weeks of partial lockdown which were all retired with “honour certificates”.

     

    It is quite obvious, even to the uninitiated, that the resort to honour certificates instead of hard evidence in the form of invoices and receipts to support these claims and payments, was an attempt to whitewash and coverup the inflated expenditure on hot meals by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government and has in fact, deprived the nation of value for money in the said transactions.

     

    According to the Auditor General, his office could not authenticate the cash payments because they were supported with mere honor certificates and lacked internal checks resulting in the possibility of payments being made to persons who may not have provided any service.

     

    Ladies and gentlemen, what is most shocking is a related finding by the Auditor General, that there were no certification statements prepared for payments totaling GH¢5,638,684.00 out of the GH¢7,999,524 paid to caterers at the Headquarters of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection. This is a clear case of broad daylight thievery which must not go unpunished.

     

    1. Friends of the media, it also emerged that at the height of the pandemic when frontline health workers complained about the lack of adequate PPEs, with some even losing their lives, senior management and supporting staff of the Ministry of Information were busy paying themselves a total amount of GHS151,000.00 as “COVID-19 risk allowance” without approval.

     

    One may ask, what risk did these staff of the Ministry of Information led by the Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah face to warrant the sharing of such colossal amount of money among themselves as risk allowances without approval?

     

    What is even more bizarre, is the finding by the Auditor General that allowances totalling GH¢811,800.00 were paid to staff of the Information Ministry without adequate supporting documents. The Auditor General noted that apart from expenditure memos and signed sheets, there were no activity or program reports to support and authenticate the allowances paid.

     

    It goes without saying, that the Minister of Information and his staff must immediately refund these unjustifiable payments to the state coffers or be held to account.

     

    1. Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, the Auditor General also found that COVID-19 related payments were made to various service providers totalling GHS543,058,709.00 outside of the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), in clear violation of Regulation 61 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I 2378).

     

    Clearly, these illegal payments were deliberately made by officers of the Finance Ministry in order to obviate the strict rigours and scrutiny of the GIFMIS system. There is no doubt about the fact that this illegal act of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has deprived the State of value for money as far as the said payments are concerned.

     

    1. Quite strangely, ladies and gentlemen, the Auditor General also found that contrary to Regulation 78 of the Public Financial Management Regulation (PFMR), the Ministry of Local Government made payments from COVID-19 funds totalling GH¢285,135.64 on ten (10) transactions not related to COVID-19 activities.

     

    1. Again, the Auditor General found that between April 2020 and November 2020, the Ministry of Health made twenty-three (23) payments totalling GH¢4,520,661.84 to various suppliers for the supply of food items to the Pentecost Convention and Pantang Isolation Centres to cater for COVID-19 patients. Further scrutiny by the Auditor General disclosed that out of the total payments made, GH¢3,755,202.58 were fully acquitted to substantiate the payments leaving a difference of GH¢765,459.26 unacquitted.

     

    1. Friends from the media, the Auditor General further noted that a company known as Modern Security Printers Limited was awarded a contract by government to print 929,550 pieces of educational A2 posters at the cost of GH¢4,368,885.00 and to conduct public education on COVID-19 safety protocols for students for GH¢1,456,310.00. Shockingly, the Auditor General did not find any report or evidence that supports the execution of the public education on COVID-19 safety protocols for students for which an amount of GH¢1,456,310.00 was paid. This unaccounted payment is a clear case of financial loss to the state which must be retrieved without delay.

     

    1. Additionally, the Auditor General found that contrary to the express provisions of the Public Procurement Law, the Ministry of Health, without the approval of the Central Tender Review Committee, increased the cost of five (5) contracts with total contract sum of GH¢24,256,500.00 by GH¢4,017,000.00 through variation orders.

     

    Similarly, the Auditor General established that the Ministry of Health entered into four contracts for the supply of PPEs at a cost of GH¢9,280,300.00 through single-source procurement without the approval of the Board of the Public Procurement Authority.

     

    1. Ladies and gentlemen, the Auditor General also noted that in line with update No.6 of the President’s address to the Nation of 9th April 2020, Non-governmental Organisations and individual private water sellers provided free water services to their clients and customers at the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies from April 2020 to December 2020 and submitted a total bill of GH¢37,609,791.71 for 2020.

     

    However, a review of COVID-19 free water bills at the Community Water and Sanitation Agency by the Auditor General disclosed that there were no actual water bills generated and submitted to the Agency by the NGOs and Private Individual Water providers to support their claims. The Auditor General could not verify the bill and validate the dubious payment of GH¢37,609,791.71 by the Ministry of Finance to these NGOs.

     

    CONCLUSION

    Distinguished friends from the media while time will not permit us to discuss all the startling details contained in the report of the Auditor General, the above disclosures are quite scandalizing to say the least.

     

    It is very clear that while COVID-19 may have been a national health disaster for Ghana, it was a bonanza and an avenue for officials of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government and the New Patriotic Party to engage in the most obscene plundering of state resources never seen before in Ghana’s history.

     

    You may recall, that at the height of the pandemic in 2020, an audio recording of one Madam Felicia Tetteh, a former MCE and Parliamentary Candidate of the NPP in the Sagnarigu Constituency in the Northern Region, emerged with grim details about how she as a Parliamentary Candidate was given GHS100,000 of COVID-19 funds, while another GHS200,000 was given to her Constituency Chairman.

     

    By simple extrapolation and arithmetics, about GHS82,500,000 of COVID-19 funds were doled out to New Patriotic Party Parliamentary Candidates and Constituency Chairmen in all 275 Constituencies across the country. How could the New Patriotic Party and the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government be so wicked and heartless? Clearly, these are a group of people who have no love for country and have never been interested in protecting the citizenry but only came to power to steal, kill and destroy the country.

     

    It is worthy of note, that these stinking revelations have come at a time of excruciating hardships for Ghanaians occasioned by high tax payments, hyper inflation of 54.1% and an ever-increasing rate of unemployment. As we speak, government has announced a total freeze on public sector employment while our secondary schools are battling with hunger due to shortage of food supplies from the Government. Our children don’t even have access to basic curricular-based text books almost four years after the introduction of a new curricular.

     

    Ladies and gentlemen, we are all witnesses to how Government has sought to justify its mismanagement of the Ghanaian economy by citing COVID- 19 as the cause of our economic woes. Indeed, COVID-19 is the most favorite line in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia book of lamentations for the unprecedented havoc they have caused to the Ghanaian economy. At the very least opportunity, spokespersons of this government consciously and shamelessly recite this excuse as the cause of the economic mess we presently have on our hands.

     

    What the apologists of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government have failed to tell the Ghanaian people is the fact that, COVID-19 brought the biggest financial windfall that have ever accrued to a sitting government in the history of Ghana. And that, our dear country would not have been plunged into the economic mess we presently find ourselves in, if these resources have been judiciously and prudently utilized by our duty-bearers.

     

    Sadly, after squandering all these resources on some very unconscionable ventures under the guise of fighting COVID-19, these callous nation-wreckers in government have turned around to not only blame the pandemic which fattened their pockets, but are now seeking to expropriate the life savings and hard-earned monies of the Ghanaian people, in the name of Domestic Debt Exchange.

     

    We in the NDC have always maintained that the manner in which COVID-19 funds were expended by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government spelt doom for our economy. It is a fact beyond dispute that Ghana is now bankrupt and our economy has finally collapsed under the watch of President Akufo-Addo and his Vice, Alhaji Bawumia. Having run down our economy through reckless and inordinate borrowing, stealing, and outright abuse of public funds, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government in a desperate move to clinch an IMF deal which appears to be their last gasp for breathe, has resorted to a Domestic Debt Exchange program which seeks to expropriate the live savings and hard earned monies of government creditors including Ghanaian citizens.

     

    Friends from the media, in the face of this unpardonable and despicable raid on the public purse, there can be no justification whatsoever for the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government to attempt to indirectly impose a draconian debt exchange program on the Ghanaian people in order to clean a mess they and their cronies in government have created. It is therefore within the right of labour, trade unions, pensioners, individual bond holders, banks and other stakeholders to stand firmly against the brazen attempt to foist and impose unfavourable terms of a so-called domestic debt exchange program on them.

     

    DEMANDS.

    Ladies and gentlemen, we will not be surprised if the thieving Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government who have proven to be a grand monument of waste and corruption tries to coverup this corruption scandal as they have often done since they took office in the year 2017.

     

    We wish to make it clear that we cannot and will not accept any situation where the Ghanaian people will be further punished and made to suffer for the willful mismanagement and destruction of our economy while the thieves in government who continue to milk the state coffers dry are left off the hook to enjoy their loot. We shall not sit aloof and watch the mother serpent of corruption, President Akufo-Addo and his Appearance-Fee-Collection Vice, Alhaji Bawumia whitewash this audit report and sweep it under the carpet as they have done in time past. Enough is enough!

     

    Unlike President Akufo-Addo who has proven to be the Chief Corruption Clearing Agent, the whole world witnessed how the Malawian President, Lazarus Chakwera, cracked the whip on officials of his government who were found to have misused COVID-19 funds. The Malawian President is on record to have fired his Labour Minister, Ken Kandodo together with nineteen (19) other Officials. Friends, Kandodo’s crime was that he used less than $800 of the COVID-19 fund on allowances for a trip to South Africa in the company of the President. This is what decisive leadership is all about, but alas, here in Ghana, officials of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government receive promotion and patting at the back for engaging in acts of stealing of public funds.

     

    1. The NDC calls on the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (PAC) to expedite its public hearings on this Special Audit Report into COVID-19 expenditures. This hearing should be televised live for the Ghanaian public to follow and be apprised of how their government expended COVID-19 funds.

     

    1. We further urge Parliament to compel the Auditor-General to exercise his power of surcharge and disallowance to retrieve all COVID-19 funds that have been misapplied or misused through various infractions and veritable acts of criminality.

     

    1. While at it, ladies and gentlemen, we call on the Special Prosecutor to investigate all Ministers and public officials who have been cited in the report for wrongdoing and bring them to book.

     

    1. President Akufo-Addo must immediately fire the Minister of Finance, his Health Minister, Kweku Agyemang Menu, the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the CEO of the National Food Buffer Stock Company and all other officials who have been cited in the report for violating the laws of the country in their expenditure of COVID-19 funds.

     

    We thank you for your kind attention.

     

    Signed.

    SAMMY GYAMFI ESQ.

    National Communications Officer

  • Economy to be among 12 best economies in  Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022

    Economy to be among 12 best economies in  Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022

    Adnan Adams Mohammed

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that Ghana’s economy is likely to rank 12th among 49 Sub-Saharan African nations in 2022 with an expected growth rate of 5.2%.

    Ghana is expected to jointly rank 12th position with Cape Verde among league of Sub-Saharan African economies. In West Africa, the nation will place 6th again with Cape Verde.

    Although the expected growth of 5.2% is the lowest among other economic researchers, the World Bank has projected a growth of 5.5% for 2022. Also, the parent company of Stanbic Bank, Standard Bank has predicted an economic growth rate of about 6.2% in 2022 and 6.8% in 2023 amidst tough times for the Ghanaian economy.

    The Word Bank in its latest report said the government’s significant progress in vaccinations and the further easing of COVID-19 restrictions will stimulate demand and supply within the economy. But, it pointed out that the country’s ability to tap the Eurobond market may further diminish, whilst the foreign exchange reserves could remain under pressure unless the government acquires alternative sources of external financing.

    “As global risk may worsen further in the first-half of 2022, and Ghana’s ability to tap the Eurobond market may further wane. Foreign exchange reserves could remain under pressure in 2022 — unless the government acquires alternative sources of external bilateral and multilateral funding.”

    The 5.2% expected expansion in the economy in 2022 will be slightly lower than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate recorded in 2021.

    In 2021, the IMF projected a growth rate of 4.2%, but the economy expanded by 5.4%, according to provisional estimates from the Ghana Statistical Service.

    This was as a result of strong growth in the Services sector (9.4%), particularly Information, Communication and Technology (33.1%) and Agriculture (8.4%), particularly the Fisheries (13.4%) sub sector.

    In 2023, the Fund forecasts a growth rate of 5.1%, which will place the country in the 21st position in the league of African economies.

    This is due to the expected strong growth rate by most African economies.

    In 2022, Niger will become the fastest growing economy in Sub Saharan Africa with a growth rate of 6.9%, whilst Senegal will lead the league of African economies in 2023 with 9.2% in the economy.

    Meanwhile, Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to grow at a rate of 3.8% in 2022 and subsequently 4% in 2023.

    COUNTRY GDP RANKING

    Niger                 6.9% 1st

    South Sudan 6.5% 2nd

    DR Congo 6.4% 3rd

    Rwanda                6.4% 3rd

    Mauritius 6.1% 5th

    Equat. Guinea 6.1% 5th

    Coted’lvoire 6.0% 7th

    Benin                 5.9% 8th

    Kenya                 5.7% 9th

    The Gambia 5.6% 10th

    Togo                5.6           10th

    Ghana                 5.2% 12th

    Cape Verde 5.2% 12th

  • Gov’t told to stop the ‘COVID blame game’ to restore economy credibility

    Gov’t told to stop the ‘COVID blame game’ to restore economy credibility

    Adnan Adams Mohammed

    A former staff of the International Monetary Fund and a former finance minister has implored that Ghana’s credibility on the international market is waning due to the continuous attribution of the country’s issues to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian–Ukraine War.

    He chided President Nana Akufo-Addo’s comments he made during the recent interview with the BBC, where the President sought to defend the state of the Ghanaian economy as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian – Ukraine War.

    According to the President, the effects of the 2 global developments are being experienced across the globe.

    “I think the world is becoming sceptical about the extent to which Ghana uses COVID [to justify its challenges]. Because we were told recently by the World Bank that Ghana for example had arrears in excess of 5% of GDP, which is significant, if you take our GDP to be GH¢ 350 billion at the time, 5% will be about GH¢ 17 billion, but the budget is showing a deficit of GH¢ 3 billion” Seth Terkper claimed in an interview last week. “So to continue to blame everything on COVID and also to say that everything was solid against the advice of others, opens the credibility gap even more.”

    Meanwhile, Mr. Terkper, has called for a solid domestic program to get the country out of its current situation.

    “You can’t say that the Ukraine war has not affected Ghana, we are not an island. But remember we had about $6 billion to deal with COVID in a year, that’s about GH¢ 36 billion, which is about half of what GRA brought in. So why do we continue to blame COVID for everything? We talk about the cost of COVID and what government has spent money on, what about the revenue that came in? Didn’t the revenue offset the expenditure? Why are we always beating the drum on only expenditures and ignoring the revenue bit.”

    “So the question is; what is fundamentally wrong such that despite all the revenues from stabilization fund, to $6 billion for COVID, we are still in this situation, with our indices being worse than other African countries. We are saying that our story is becoming unbelievable and what we need is a solid program to get us out of this problem we find ourselves in,” he added.

  • “Live responsibly” – Pres Akufo-Addo to Ghanaians as he lift all COVID-19 restrictions

    “Live responsibly” – Pres Akufo-Addo to Ghanaians as he lift all COVID-19 restrictions

    Adnan Adams Mohammed

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo addressed Ghanaians on Sunday, March 27, 2022, giving updates on the country’s fight against COVID-19.

    In his address, he announced the drastic easing of various restrictions including reopening the country’s land and sea borders as well as the no more negative PCR test for fully vaccinated travelers.

    Below is the President’s full address:

    1. I first came to your homes on Wednesday, 11th March 2020, five (5) days after our nation’s 63rd Independence Day celebration, a day before we recorded our first two (2) cases, with news of the measures Government was taking to limit the importation of the COVID-19 virus into the country. Even at that time, it was obvious to me, watching what was happening in Asia, Europe and Latin America, that, if it was not well-managed, it would disrupt our lives and livelihoods.

    2. Since then, we have experienced four (4) waves of the outbreak. One hundred and sixty-thousand, nine hundred and thirty-two (160,932) people have tested positive from the 2.4 million tests conducted, and one thousand, four hundred and forty-five (1,445) people have, sadly, died.

    3. Our comprehensive strategy has entailed living with restrictions that altered our daily routine; we have been restrained from shaking hands and hugging one another; we have had to keep a distance from each other; we have had to put up with the discomfort of wearing face masks every time we left our homes; we have had to endure distress caused by the poking of our nostrils and throats with swab-sticks, each time we underwent a PCR or antigen test; we had to endure, for three weeks, the painful lockdown in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and Kasoa and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and contiguous districts; and we have all borne the brunt of the ravages of the pandemic.

    4. As your President, I saw it as my duty to provide you with regular updates on the situation, the measures government is taking, and to seek your support and co-operation. That is why I have been a constant feature on your screens these past two years, in the addresses that have now become popularly referred to as “Fellow Ghanaians”, and I thank you for welcoming me so warmly into your homes.

    5. You have listened to me, you have co-operated with Government and with the health experts, you have adhered to the enhanced hygiene and mask wearing protocols, and a considerable number of you have taken the vaccine.

    6. I thank you for the opportunity you have given me to be your President in these difficult times. I do not take it lightly. The relative successes we have chalked in winning the fight against COVID-19 have been collective ones, which reinforce my belief that, if we are united, there is no obstacle or hurdle too high to surmount in our quest to build a progressive and prosperous Ghana.

    7. Fellow Ghanaians, undoubtedly, like in every country in the world, the effects of the pandemic have been devastating for us, in Ghana. We have felt the brunt of COVID-19, with every aspect of national life affected.

    8. I did say at the height of the pandemic that “we know what to do to bring the economy back to life; but what we do not know is how to bring people back to life”. We, thus, had to take drastic steps to protect lives and livelihoods by suspending, for the years 2020 and 2021, our pursuit of fiscal responsibility, which had made the Ghanaian economy the poster boy of rapid economic growth in the world in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

    9. You would recall that, in response to the pandemic, I mandated the creation of the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme to support households and micro, small, and medium-size businesses (MSMEs). Its intent was to help minimise job losses, and stimulate economic revitalisation, by mobilising private and public sector finances to expand industrial output for domestic consumption and exports.

    10. To this end, I instituted a GH¢1.1 billion health response package, which was used to procure supplies and equipment, and a relief package for health workers, which included tax waivers, allowances, transportation and COVID-insurance. Government also found the money to recruit, on a permanent basis, twenty-four thousand, two hundred and eighty-five (24,285) more health professionals.

    11. GH¢1.6 billion was made available to support vulnerable households across the country, which went into food packages and hot meals, and the provision of free water for all, free electricity for lifeline consumers, and 50% rebate for all others. Some seven hundred and fifty million cedis (GH¢750 million) in soft loans and grants were also disbursed to micro, small and medium sized businesses to help maintain their economic activity. The Government Statistician tells us that this expenditure has achieved its purpose.

    12. At the height of the pandemic, despite strong opposition in some quarters and the legitimate concern of some parents, we stood firm and were successful in ensuring that the education of our children was not truncated.

    13. We spent some GH¢1.9 billion providing PPEs and hot meals for students, teaching and non-teaching staff, hand washing facilities, training of teachers on COVID, development of content for online classes, and disinfection and fumigation of schools. This made it possible for students to return in conditions of safety, sit for their respective examinations, and achieve successful results. Indeed, the spectacular results of the first and second batches of the Free SHS graduates, whom I proudly call the Akufo-Addo graduates, are testament to this.

    14. I want to state, without any equivocation, that should our nation, God forbid, be confronted by such a pandemic again, and I, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, am, by the grace of God, your President, I will not shy away from taking such essential steps to protect you and your businesses again.

    15. Whilst we count the costs, COVID-19 also inspired our domestic manufacturing capabilities, and deepened our self-reliance. The pharmaceutical industry, at my instigation, responded positively to the need for domestic production of sanitizers, disinfectants, and liquid soaps. Furthermore, Government was able to procure some eighty-one million cedis (GH¢81 million) worth of personal protective equipment, such as face masks, headcovers, medical scrubs and hospital gowns from domestic garment and textiles manufacturing companies for health workers, and for students going back to school to prepare and sit for their final examinations.

    16. COVID-19 also highlighted the unequal distribution of healthcare facilities in the country, as we have tended to focus our healthcare infrastructure in Accra, Kumasi and one or two of our other big cities. As we have seen, epidemics and pandemics, when they emerge, can spread to any part of the country.

    17. Whilst appreciating COVAX and other donors in COVID-19 vaccine supply initiatives, and Government also procuring further vaccine consignments through AU and AVATT initiatives, Ghana, Rwanda and Senegal, in partnership with the German biotechnology company, BioNTech SE, are venturing into vaccine development and manufacturing, with the three countries determined to become vaccine manufacturing hubs in sub-Saharan Africa.

    18. We want to achieve self-sufficiency in vaccine production to meet future national, regional and continental needs for health security. We shall not then, in the future, be at the mercy of foreign vaccine nationalism and geopolitics.

    19. Last year, I set up a Vaccine Manufacturing Committee, under the chairmanship of the world-renowned Ghanaian scientist, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, which will, soon, be transformed by Act of Parliament into the National Vaccine Institute.

    20. We have committed twenty-five million dollars ($25 million) to develop our domestic vaccine production capability, and facilitate the capacity of domestic pharmaceutical companies to fill, finish and package mRNA COVID-19, malaria, tuberculosis and other vaccines, as a first step towards vaccine production.

    21. Fellow Ghanaians, we have reached a critical point in our fight against COVID-19. Government has undertaken a comprehensive review of the raft of measures put in place to help win the fight against the virus.

    22. This review is premised on the background of rapidly declining infections, the relative success of the vaccination campaign being supervised by the Ghana Health Service, and the increased capacity developed in the public and private health sectors over the last two (2) years.

    23. Indeed, as at Friday, 25th March 2022, the total number of active cases stood at seventy-two (72). There are no severely or critically ill persons. Our COVID-19 treatment centres are empty, and the 4th wave appears to be over. In addition to these very low reported cases is the considerable improvement in the availability and uptake of vaccines by the population.

    24. Whilst we have not achieved our national vaccination coverage target, it is significant to note that reasonable vaccination coverages have been achieved in the hotspots of infections, particularly in the urban areas of Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi. Government is determined to use all means to increase the deployment of vaccination across the country to achieve our target of vaccinating some twenty million (20 million) Ghanaians by June.

    25. To my Fellow Ghanaians who have not received the jab, I urge you to take it. To those listening to the propaganda by the conspiracy theorists and those who are still sceptical about the efficacy of the vaccine, it has been a year since my wife and I got vaccinated; it has not disrupted our physical wellbeing, neither has it caused us to be sick. We are, touch wood, hale and hearty, like the other 13.1 million Ghanaians who have been vaccinated.

    26. With countries in the ECOWAS Community, especially in our neighbouring countries, presently, like us, recording very low levels of infections, and having significant numbers of our people vaccinated, and on the advice of the national COVID-19 Taskforce and the health experts, I have taken the decision to revise the COVID-19 Restrictions, enacted under E.I. 64.

    27. At this point, I want to express the great gratitude of the nation to the leadership and membership of the Ghana Health Service, to all other health workers, and to members of the COVID-19 taskforce for the outstanding work they have done in bringing us this far.

    28. So, from tomorrow, Monday, 28th March, the wearing of facemasks is no longer mandatory. I encourage all of you, though, to continue to maintain enhanced hand hygiene practices, and avoid overcrowded gatherings.

    29. All in-person activities, such as those that take place in churches, mosques, conferences, workshops, private parties and events, cinemas and theatres may resume at full capacity, as long as the audience and/or participants are fully vaccinated. Hand washing and hand sanitising points should be made available at these venues.

    30. Outdoor functions at sporting events, entertainment spots, political rallies and funerals may resume at full capacity, again, as long as all persons at these events are fully vaccinated.

    31. From tomorrow, Monday, 28th March, fully vaccinated travellers into Ghana will not take PCR tests from the country of embarkation to allow them entry into the country through the KIA, and will not be tested on arrival.

    32. Citizens and foreign residents in Ghana, who are not fully vaccinated, would, however, need to provide a negative PCR test result of not more than 48-hours, will undergo an antigen test upon arrival at KIA, and will be offered vaccination there.

    33. It is worth noting that the establishment of the COVID-19 testing infrastructure at the Kotoka International Airport by Frontier Healthcare Services Ltd, at its own cost, has been key to our ability to limit successfully the importation of the virus into Ghana through the airport. The efficacy of the testing regime at KIA has won global admiration, and has been applauded by all those who have undergone its testing. It has been one of the reasons why Ghana was not at the receiving end of several of the travel bans imposed by the West at the height of the pandemic, for which many African countries were affected.

    34. As from tomorrow, Monday, 28th March, all land and sea borders will be opened. Fully vaccinated travellers will be allowed entry through the land and sea borders without a negative PCR test result from the country of origin. Citizens and foreign residents in Ghana, who are not fully vaccinated, will have to produce a negative 48-hour PCR test result, and will be offered vaccination on arrival.

    35. Fellow Ghanaians, it has been a difficult two (2) years for all of us, and we are seeing light at the end of a very long tunnel. I appeal to all of us to live responsibly, protect ourselves at all times, and do everything…

  • Understanding mismanagement of an economy in context: No excuses for Ghana’s “broke” economy

    Understanding mismanagement of an economy in context: No excuses for Ghana’s “broke” economy

    By Professor John Gatsi

    Economic management outcomes depend on many factors including leadership.

    It is unfortunate to think that putting together highly educated citizens or members of the political party in government means expected outcomes are certain.

    If that is the only factor in economic management, then throughout history the American, Russian, Japanese, Canadian, German, French economies for example would not have recorded recession ,depression, debt distress, financial distress and sectoral crises.

    Touting is not equivalent to expected delivery. When the economy was showing deep signs of vulnerability in the areas of huge debt and exchange rate volatility , the response was aggravated touting by mentioning names of people in government.

    Another sign before Covid -19 was that instead of deploying policies to support the efforts of the Bank of Ghana to manage the currency, the government usurped the constitutional mandate of the Bank of Ghana by establishing exchange rate management committee which could not deliver.

    It is time for government to publicly accept the fact that in currency management, there are internal and external factors which should be addressed with different strategies.

    Ghanaians are expressing disappointments in economic management outcomes in recent times. The government has joined the queue by saying the economy is broke without providing what makes the economy broke. The discussion has assumed some comparisons that should be corrected.

    There are some who think that if you are dealing with a global pandemic, issues relating to mismanagement do not arise. Some described the energy crises and the problems under the NDC as mismanagement because it was not caused by Covid-19 and the deep micro and macro level distress of the economy under the NPP is not mismanagement and that it is just because of Covid-19. This perspective is incorrect. It is possible that funds provided to tackle the pandemic have been managed in a manner that is not reflective of what should have been the case. Borrowing excessively in the name of Covid -19 without the willingness to conduct Covid-19 expenditure audit to ensure transparency, disclosures and accountability is a colossal fiscal mistake that will continue to strengthen the believe by people that mismanagement contributed to the crisis Ghanaians are experiencing now. The principles of accountability and confidence are not waived in the management of the economy during a pandemic. We all know that the pandemic has increased global fiscal deficit, public debt , cost structure of businesses among others including Ghana but does not in any way means zero corruption , responsible expenditure and accounting for funds disbursed are no longer requirements in public financial management.
    the
    Economic management during the pandemic has generally been expected to be difficult but it also came with faster access to funds to manage the economy. This easy access to available funds from national and international sources such as the IMF and World Bank was not available to the economic mangers under NDC when crude oil prices went down to the floor including gold and cocoa prices. Under Covid-19 economic management , on average gold, cocoa and crude oil prices are performing well and apart from 2020 , revenue has been encouraging. In the face of these facts, inability to convince Ghanaians that the results we are seeing is the best , means mismanagement is part of the financial distress of the country.
    Therefore , the argument that the financial distress is justified because it is the outcome of a global pandemic is not acceptable.

    It is sad that we seem to be attacking the credibility of individuals who were part of the NDC government as though they are not permitted to talk about the hardships and erosion of confidence in pandemic economic management and leadership of the country. It is most annoying that people who are holding juicy positions in government, sometimes in institutions that benefited from prudent and value for money application of public debts by the past government, are the ones doing this. Government should be encouraged that in times of widespread hardships, freedom of speech and expression provide reliable data as to how the people rate the government and perhaps areas around which new policies should be developed to address the needs of the people. Insulting and using vulgar words against people is an abuse of the privilege to serve Ghana in government.

    The economic management outcomes today are not merely pandemic outcomes but also a reflection of some level of mismanagement.

    Now, key government officials believe the economy is broke. Citizens are asking questions as to why “the economy is broke”?. Some genuinely do not believe Ghana is broke because a broke person who is not minded to stop or drastically cut down on offensive expenditure is mismanaging his life. The unwillingness to demonstrate real commitment to prioritizing necessary expenditure mirrors mismanagement. When these issues are addressed, then citizens will agree with government and reduce the degree of mismanagement tag.

    Insulting and threatening citizens who express their frustration about the hardships and erosion of incomes and economic opportunities is mismanagement of the privilege to serve.

  • Ghana gets New Country Partnership Framework from World Bank   

    Ghana gets New Country Partnership Framework from World Bank   

    Adnan Adams Mohammed

    The Government of Ghana and World Bank Group’s (WBG) Board of Executive Directors concluded a discussion on a new five-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Ghana for 2022 to 2026. 

    The CPF prioritizes investments in human capital, job creation, economic diversification, building a resilient health system, and fostering a greener and more inclusive society.

    Ghana has achieved considerable economic and social progress in the past 30 years. It achieved middle-income status in 2011 because of strong, sustained economic growth, averaging over 5 percent since the early 1990s. This was supported by a stable democracy and driven largely by gold and cocoa exports and the development of substantial oil and gas reserves.  It achieved the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving poverty from 52.7 percent (1993) to 23.4 percent (2016). However, the pace of poverty reduction has slowed in recent years, and inequalities in some areas continue, particularly in some northern areas of the country.

    “The World Bank Group is happy to support Ghana’s economic recovery plan. The CPF is aligned with Ghana’s Coordinated Program of Economic and Social Development Policies and will support the Government of Ghana in creating a competitive environment for the private sector to flourish and play a greater role in job creation particularly for youth,” said Pierre Laporte, World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone. “The World Bank Group, through the CPF, will also support policies and programs that aim to strengthen digital transformation for improved service delivery and productivity, improve governance, and promote greater inclusion, including strengthening women’s economic empowerment.”

    The CPF will support Ghana in its COVID-19 and medium-term development agenda.  It is designed around three mutually reinforcing focus areas, namely: Enhancing Conditions for Private Sector Development and Quality Job Creation; Improving Inclusive Service Delivery; and Promoting Resilient and Sustainable Development. Exploiting the opportunities of digital transformation will be a cross-cutting theme. The $4.5 bn CPF was prepared jointly by the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

    The social and economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis has been significant. Ghana was one of the earliest countries in Africa to announce social distancing measures, including school closures and cancelling of mass gatherings, complemented by aggressive testing and recently a strong vaccination program. These measures – while saving lives – came at a heavy economic cost in the immediate term. The CPF will address the immediate as well as medium-term implications of the COVID-19 crisis in line with the Ghana Coronavirus Alleviation and Revitalization of Enterprises Support program and lay a path on how the World Bank, IFC, and MIGA, will leverage their relative strengths to partner with Ghana for stronger development outcomes.

    “To stimulate diversified private sector growth and create secure jobs, the World Bank Group will support a competitive environment for enterprise development,” said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Senior Country Manager for Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo.  “IFC will continue to work closely with the Government of Ghana and the private sector to provide investment and advisory services to expand access to finance for small businesses and entrepreneurs, enhance agribusiness productivity, and support Ghana’s sustainable industrialization.” 

    “The CPF focuses on improving the investment climate and enacting regulatory reforms. Succeeding in these reforms would be critical for accelerating private sector development,” said Merli Baroudi, MIGA’s Director of Economics and Sustainability.

    The CPF will move towards larger and more cohesive and transformational interventions, potentially across multiple sectors, that align closely to strong government programs and with greater use of results-based financing, where appropriate. It is designed to be flexible, especially during its early years of implementation, with an early review of progress to accommodate needed changes for a post COVID-19 recovery.