President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo -Addo has assured that some flagship social intervention programs such as the Free Senior High School (SHS) would still strive under an International Monitory Fund (IMF) program.
President Nana Addo argued that the introduction of the free SHS program was done when the government was still on an IMF program inherited from the erstwhile Mahama.
“The SHS policy was introduced in September of my first term in office within nine months of my coming under an IMF program. So it’s already being accommodating within the thinking of a fund program for Ghana,” he said in an interview on Bolgatanga-based URA Radio monitored by MyNewsGh.com
Following concerns that the current form and shape of the free SHS and TVET programs put an excessively high unsustainable cost on the government, President Nana Addo said “It’s relatively easy for me to give this assurance, the Free SHS, free TVET, these programs are the heart of this government’s work over the last five years and we have made it clear to everybody that they’re non-negotiable when it comes to the public expenditure.”
He assured that notwithstanding the upcoming intervention from the IMF which is most often associated with conditions, free SHS and TVET would remain intact.
“And already I think you’ve heard the statement the IMF Country Director made not too long that they cannot see how such an important social intervention can be sacrificed on the altar of a program with them. All our minds are going in the same direction. I’m very, very confident that these programs especially the free SHS and free TVET programs will emerge from the fund intact,” President Nana Addo assured.
