Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta says that the Akufo-Addo-led government must be commended for its management of the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to him, decisions that have been taken by the government to ensure that livelihoods are not heavily affected is an indication of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s excellence leadership.

Speaking on the floor of parliament whiles presenting the 2021 first-quarter budget, Ken Ofori-Atta was of the view that Ghana is among the countries in the world that handled the COVID-19 situation well.

“Mr. Speaker, leadership is best tested in times of crisis. Whether it is to do with the crisis of Dumsor, the crisis of homegrown economic mismanagement or the imported crisis of a global pandemic like the novel Coronavirus; it is when crises hit, that the people see and feel who a real leader is and who is not. Earlier in March, President Akufo-Addo told the nation ‘we know how to bring the economy to back to life. What we do not know is how to bring people back to life. We will therefore protect people’s lives, then their livelihood. Mr. Speaker, those words were truly profound and true to his character, the president has put his leadership skills just where his mouth,” he said.

He added that: “The whole world and more importantly, the vast majority of Ghanaians know that the President and his team have managed the Covid 19 crisis far better than most countries in the world. Indeed our efforts have been adjudged as among the best three in the world,” he said.

He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring that Ghana was on a more sustainable fiscal path in the medium-term.

“Mr. Speaker, our efforts to protect lives and preserve livelihoods, coupled with the impact of the pandemic on revenues and expenditures resulted in a fiscal deficit of 11.4% of GDP. As already indicated in the presentation to this august House in July, we have a well-thought-out Ghana Cares Obaatanpa plan and strategy to return this economy to a more sustainable fiscal path in the medium-term.”

Ken Ofori-Atta was hopeful that the government’s digitalization programme will lead to an improvement in service delivery in the public sector.

“Mr. Speaker, we expect that our digitalisation programme in the public sector will improve efficiency and enhance the delivery of service. The government introduced the Digital Addressing System and the National ID programmes to ensure that all Ghanaians and their dwellings, as well as business locations, are uniquely identified” he indicated.