• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Photo Gallery
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Citi TV
Friday, March 31, 2023
Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Showbiz
  • Coronavirus
  • Infographics
  • Livestream
  • Videos
No Result
View All Result
Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Showbiz
  • Coronavirus
  • Infographics
  • Livestream
  • Videos
No Result
View All Result
Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana
No Result
View All Result

Government justifies extension of free water, electricity to Ghanaians 

Godwin Akweiteh AlloteybyGodwin Akweiteh Allotey
July 24, 2020
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A Deputy Minister of Finance, Charles Adu Boahen

A Deputy Minister of Finance, Charles Adu Boahen

ShareShareShareShare

A Deputy Minister of Finance, Charles Adu Boahen has justified the extension of free water for everyone and electricity to lifeline consumers by an additional three months.

Although he admitted that the reliefs seem expensive and socialist in nature, it will inure to the benefit of the needy in society following the hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Really and truly, we know that it is expensive and socialist in nature, but when you look at the impact of the pandemic, these are the kind of things that we need to do to benefit a lot more people,” he said.

Adu Boahen made the remark on the Citi Breakfast Show on Friday, July 24, 2020, a day after the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta presented the 2020 mid-year budget review in Parliament.

Among other things, Ofori-Atta announced the extension of free water to Ghanaians for the next three months. In the case of the electricity, he said the lifeline consumers will enjoy it for free for the rest of the year, 2020.

Ghanaians enjoyed such reliefs during the initial stages of the COVID-19 induced restrictions.

The Minority in Parliament had accused the government of using the mid-year budget review to make election-year promises.

Some critics also argue that the extension of the utility reliefs is populist and one that could blow government expenditure out of gear.

But speaking in an interview with Bernard Avle on the Citi Breakfast Show, Adu Boahen said the decision is in the right direction.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about lives and livelihoods. I think the lockdown really showed us the kind of society we live in and the communal nature of our society. We realized that people were really struggling. We had to roll out the food programme, the soup kitchens all over the place. It really was devastating. And the security personnel said that if we continued this [lockdown], all hell may break loose. So we really had to apply measures and strategies that inure themselves to the type of the environment and community living we have here [in Ghana] unlike what we have in the west.”

“What we don’t have here is a formalized means that allows us to deploy cash or intangible benefits to the needy in society and those who need it most to be able to address this issue and to reduce the possibility of violence and the like escalating. So we are left with some very limited options to be able to distribute or extend any kind of benefit or support to the most needy in society. One of them is water and the other is electricity.”

He said that is why the decision was adopted for the government to bear the cost of water and part of electricity tariffs.

“So you will see that with this new extension in electricity, we said that it is to lifeline customers. So the cost of that is not really that high compared to when we were doing that plus 50 per cent for others. And we believe that this is more targeted…and this benefit will be immense to them. The same with water. Water is really an essential commodity everybody deserves to have,” he explained.

 

 

 

Follow @AlloteyGodwin

ShareTweetSendSend
Previous Post

Mid-year budget review was ‘very empty’ – Ato Forson

Next Post

Naasei Boadi writes: Election 2020; Can digital technology give a party victory?

Related Posts

Top Stories

Free SHS useless without skills development – Prof. Essuman

March 31, 2023
General

Debt owed ECG was inherited – Electrochem

March 31, 2023
Education

Govt ignored redflags raised against free SHS policy – Angel Carbonu

March 31, 2023

ECG releases nationwide ‘Dumsor’ timetable

March 31, 2023
File photo
Top Stories

Central Gonja: Chief killed over land dispute

March 31, 2023
Top Stories

Report on anti-gay bill laid before Parliament

March 30, 2023
Next Post

Naasei Boadi writes: Election 2020; Can digital technology give a party victory?

TOP STORIES

Free SHS useless without skills development – Prof. Essuman

March 31, 2023

Govt ignored redflags raised against free SHS policy – Angel Carbonu

March 31, 2023

We’ll vote against govt’s new tax bills – Mahama Ayariga

March 31, 2023
Load More
ADVERTISEMENT
Citinewsroom – Comprehensive News in Ghana

CitiNewsroom.com is Ghana's leading news website that delivers high quality innovative, alternative news that challenges the status quo.

Archives

Download App

Download

Download

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Photo Gallery
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Citi TV

© 2021 All Rights Reserved Citi Newsroom.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Showbiz
  • Coronavirus
  • Infographics
  • Livestream
  • Videos

© 2021 All Rights Reserved Citi Newsroom.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT