Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Attah, has assured the public that social intervention programmes such as the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) and the Free Senior High School (SHS) will not be negatively affected by the US$3 Billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) Bailout.
He said this at a joint Ghana -IMF press conference in Washington on Thursday, May 18.
According to Mr Ofori-Atta, there will be no cuts in these programmes as social protection is one of the prominent considerations of the deal.
“The issue of ensuring that we protect the vulnerable is very clear in the programme. We have increased the resource envelope for the School Feeding Programme. We are doubling the LEAP programme to ensure that welfare support continues.
“So we should not worry about it. You have always heard the president being clear about ensuring the protection of lives and livelihood, and that spirit will continue,” the Finance Minister said.
Adding to Mr Ofori-Attah’s assurance, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief for Ghana, Stéphane Roudet, stressed the Fund’s commitment to protecting the vulnerable.
“Ensuring adequate social protection is a key objective of the programme, and the 2023 budget has already taken steps in this regard.”
The IMF Board unanimously approved Ghana’s bailout on Wednesday, May 17, at a meeting in Washington after Ghana secured the Paris Club financing assurance on Friday, May 12.
Before the approval, Ghana had to embark on several measures, including the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), tax increment, and some expenditure cuts.