Government to meet AGI today over economic impact of Coronavirus

The government will later today [Wednesday] engage the Association of Ghana Industries as part measures to cushion the economy against the expected impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The President earlier in the week met representatives from the pharmaceutical and banking industries regarding the production of local materials and drugs to help in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta said: “We are meeting with AGI but all in all, there is clarity on the action that is going to come and what type of stimulus plans we will be able to do and able to afford to ensure that our country is safe.”

In his engagement with Parliament, the Finance Minister also noted that the government will rely on a mix of funds from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and withdrawals from the Stabilisation Fund to finance the budgetary gap expected to be created by the fiscal impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

This is needed because receipts from the petroleum industry, revenue from the tourism and aviation industries among others, have been projected to suffer a massive hit.

Also today, the Bank of Ghana’s Monetary Policy Committee will be meeting to assess the possible impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the domestic economy. This is to enable the regulator to take the necessary steps to mitigate its impact and ensure financial and economic stability.

Last week, President Nana Akufo-Addo assured that the government was taking steps to handle any adverse impacts the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus could have on the country’s economic fortunes.

He said the state has engaged some relevant industry players to produce inputs needed to tackle the possible spread of the virus into Ghana. “Government is analyzing the potential impact on our economy to the virus and will trigger the relevant response to minimize it.

We have begun to engage the domestic pharmaceutical industry to assist in producing as much of the logistics to prevent and combat the virus as it is possible under the circumstances,” the President said.