Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta says the speech delivered by President Akufo-Addo on April 5, in a broadcast to the nation, has reassured citizens in the fight against Coronavirus.

According to him, the speech removed any premonition of ‘sinking into Dante’s Inferno’ and reassured the nation that we indeed have a wartime leader, ‘our Moses, to lead us to the promised land’.

“Mr Speaker, the President’s address calmed the nation; removed any premonition of sinking into a Dante’s Inferno and reassured us that we indeed have a wartime leader, our Moses, to lead us to the promised land: a leader one can trust, a leader who we can pray and work with, a leader who will turn this ‘misadventure’ into a new vibrant industrial landscape.”

“But all of us as citizens must pull in one direction; we must hold up his hands to inspire us to defeat this virus. The Lord will make a way in this desert as he unfolds a new thing for the nation as stated in Isaiah 43.”

The Finance Minister said this in a statement to Parliament, April 8 when he submitted a request to the Finance Committee to grant the authorization to access the requisite amounts from the Contingency Fund to fight coronavirus.

Earlier, President Akufo-Addo directed the Minister for Finance to prepare, for approval by Parliament, a Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP) to mitigate the disruption to economic activities on Ghanaians.

He further asked the Minister for Finance to immediately make available a minimum of GH¢1 billion to households and businesses, particularly micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as part of the initiative.