By Ayuure Kapini
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has donated GhC10 million to the COVID-19 National Trust Fund on 17 April for supporting the government’s efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus infection, which compelled President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to declare a partial lockdown in parts of Ghana which are considered the epicentres of the pandemic disease.
“The amount is in support of the national efforts towards the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” the central bank stated in a news release posted on the BoG’s website.
Also, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), the financial institution of the sub-regional body Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has donated US$250,000 to the Trust Fund on 17 April in Accra. Dr George Agyekum Donkor, the President of EBID, presented the cheque to Ms Sophia Akuffo, the Chairperson of the Fund. Dr Donkor said “The ECOWAS Bank was deeply concerned about the profound impact the pandemic was having on the people of the region.”
He said “We have come here to show solidarity, to support the [Ghana] government concerning the various emergency measures that have been put in place to ensure that the lives of millions of the people are saved.”
As part of its attempts to combat COVID-19, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government set up the Trust Fund and appointed a seven-member Board of Trustees headed by former Chief Justice Akuffo. Since the establishment of the fund, many corporate organizations and individuals have made contributions to it for helping the vulnerable people who are hard-hit by the pandemic.
Among some of the organizations which have so far contributed to the Fund include Zenith Bank Ghana Limited, Ghana’s most digitally-savvy bank, which donated GhC1 million; and GCB Bank Ltd., Ghana’s largest bank, which provided GhC100,000 to support the government’s anti-COVID-19 fight.
On 14 April, GCB Bank also provided meals to 500 doctors and other frontline health services staff as part of its commitment to the fight against COVID-19 on a daily basis. In March, GCB Bank donated 550 gallons of hand sanitizers, 100 gallons of liquid soap, 300 pieces of tissue, 50 Veronica buckets and 50 basins to the Judicial Service of Ghana to help protect the personnel from contracting the Coronavirus disease.
Mr Anselm Ray Sowah, the Managing Director of GCB Bank, presenting the items, said it was expedient to give back to society, especially, in the wake of COVID-19 to protect its customers. “GCB has the responsibility to keep our customers safe in situations such as this,” Mr. Sowah said.
Some of the prominent individuals who have contributed to the Fund are President Akufo-Addo, Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia and some government officials who donated their three months’ salaries to the Trust Fund; former President John Dramani Mahama; and some Members of Parliament (MPs).
On 5 April, a total of over GhC8 million had been collected from the public, President Akufo-Addo made this known in his fifth address to the country.
The government declared a two-week partial lockdown in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, including peri-urban Kasoa in the Awutu Senya Municipality in the Central Region, and the Kumasi Metropolis and some of its municipalities and districts in the Ashanti Region on 27 March which took effective on 30 March. On 9 April, speaking to the nation in his sixth address since the outbreak of the pandemic, President Akufo-Addo extended the partial lockdown by a week. The extension is expected to end on 20 April.
