Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has disclosed that all flagship programs of the government including Free SHS are up for review.
This is one of the many decisions taken at a 3-day crunch cabinet meeting, held at Peduase Lodge to proffer solutions to the economic hardships in the country.
In a Citi FM interview, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said: “All the 16 flagship programs are up to be looked at. The President has directed that the flagship programs should be protected and fully implemented to ensure that the impact is achieved. However, he wants it done within the constraints of item number 2 which is the fiscal framework we are working with. If based on the caps that we are working with we will have to rescope a particular flagship program, we will do it and see how much we can achieve.”
“All the 16 are up for discussion, none is off-limit. Only that the President has laid down the red line that we will not compromise on the fiscal consolidation agenda because our real problem over the years has been a year-on-year deficit going out of hand.”
The Ghana Cedi has experienced a sharp depreciation trading at 7.8 to a dollar.
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Fuel prices have also shot up affecting transport fares and the cost of general goods and services.
Analysts as well as the opposition NDC, have urged the government to review the Free SHS program and take expenditure cuts among others to save the country money.