A government spokesperson on finance and governance has argued not making use of the Heritage Fund in the present difficult circumstance would be an act of cruelty.
According to him, debate on the use of the Fund should continue because the future being propounded by the critics is now.
Daniel Okyem Aboagye, also MP for Bantama constituency in the Ashanti region, argued the Heritage Fund was purposely set up to deal with emergency situations like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking in an interview with Frontpageghana.com in Parliament, he stressed that any smart government would make use of the money to help deal with the coronavirus.
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Using college funds as an example, he noted that parents saving for the future of their children anywhere in the world would rather use the fund to prevent the family from perishing.
“What if they refuse to touch that money and the children die from the situation. Of what benefit would it be to the children or even the parents,” he quizzed?
He argued that the government is searching for funds from other sources but stressed the state cannot sit idle for the entire national system to collapse simply because “We are saving the Heritage Fund for the future.”
“Tapping into Fund is the common sense approach because we are not in ordinary times so we cannot continue to allow that money to stay unused when it can help to deal with the present predicament,” he stated.
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Mr. Okyem Aboagye noted that if the government is able to secure funds from the IMF and the other sources, these would be used in the fight against the COVID-19.
He, however, stressed if these funds are not coming as fast as they are needed the government will tap into the Heritage Fund to sustain the lives of Ghanaians.
“When we get out of the woods we can rebuild the Fund at a faster rate. It will take time but we will definitely recoup everything cedi back.”
“These are the arguments that make sense,” he stressed.
By Uthman A. Marani/Frontpageghana.com/Ghana
