COVID-19 Fund: Parliament donates GHS 200K; Oquaye offers half of three months’ salary
Parliament has contributed an amount of GHS 200,000 to the national COVID-19 Trust Fund.
The Speaker of the Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, has also donated half of his three months’ salary to the fund established to receive donations for disbursement to individuals who will negatively be impacted by the novel Coronavirus outbreak in Ghana.
“The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye has donated half of his monthly salary for three months to the COVID-19 National Trust Fund. The Speaker also announced that Parliament is donating an amount of two hundred thousand Ghana Cedis to set the fund rolling,” a memo from Parliament disclosed.
Prof. Oquaye after the passage of the COVID-19 National Trust Fund 2020 Bill under a certificate of urgency on Thursday, April 2, 2020, thus urged all Members of Parliament and other workers to contribute to the fund to help the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
COVID-19 National Trust Fund
President Nana Akufo-Addo in a late-night address on Friday, March 27, 2020, announced the establishment of a COVID-19 Trust Fund in Ghana.
The trust fund, which will be headed by former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, is to receive public contributions to help improve the lives of the vulnerable who will be worst-hit by the pandemic.
The other members of the Board of trustees of the Fund are Archbishop Justice Ofei Akrofi, Jude Kofi Bucknor, Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie, Elsie Addo-Awadzie, Dr. Ernest Ofori-Sarpong, and Dr Tanko Collins Asare will act as Secretary to the Board.
The President, while inaugurating the Board at a brief ceremony at Jubilee House two days after the Fund’s establishment noted that since the outbreak of the virus in Ghana, especially during the course of last week, organizations and individuals have made donations, with others wanting to find out how they can also contribute to the cause.
Donations to the Fund
Already, President Akufo -Addo has donated his April, May and June salaries as seed money for the Fund.
Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia continued in Akufo-Addo’s steps and also donated three months’ salary to the Trust Fund.
All Ministers of State and other top appointees at the presidency voluntarily decided to donate 50 percent of their salary for the next three months to the recently initiated COVID-19 Fund.
Institutions that have donated to the Fund so far include Hollard Ghana – GHS100,000, Absa Bank Ghana – GHS1 million, Interplast – GHS1.2 million, and Justmoh Construction Limited contributing GHS500,000.
