Coronavirus: Relax in your demands from gov’t – TUC told

Director of Operations at the Dalex Finance Joe Jackson has asked the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to have patience with the government in dealing with the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy.

He noted that the government cannot meet the demands of the TUC regarding a call to invest GH¢18 billion into the economy to save jobs following the effects of coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Jackson said the pandemic has damaged government’s budget and other sources of funds, making it impossible to even raise half of the amount TUC is demanding.

The TUC has asked the government to inject about GH¢18 billion into the Ghanaian economy to save jobs following the coronavirus pandemic.

The Head of Research at the TUC, Dr Kwabena Otoo, told Alfred Ocansey on the Sunrise morning show on 3FM Wednesday, May 13 that the TUC recognizes that the government finds itself in a difficult situation due to the impact of Covid-19 on the economy.

However, he said, the government can either print more money or borrow form the Ghana Heritage Fund (GHF) to support the economy at this moment.

“Government can borrow from the Heritage Fund to support the economy,” he said.

He added: “We went to borrow from the IMF with all the conditionality. If we were able to borrow from the IMF, it should be safer to ask government to borrow from the fund. So that we replenish that fund when the Covid- storm is over.”

But Mr Jackson also said on the show that the oil sector, which is one of the major sources of funds for the government, has collapsed due to the pandemic.

“The prices of oil we all know have dropped drastically,” he said, adding that remittances have also collapsed.

“I will be surprised if government is even able to raise half that amount,” he further said.