Speaker Donates His 3-Month Salary To COVID-19 Fund

The Speaker of Ghana's Parliament, Rt. Hon Prof Aaron Michael Oquaye has donated half of his three months salary into the Coronavirus (COVID 19) National Trust Fund as the House passes the 2020 Bill into law.

The lawmakers late Thursday night passed the Trust Fund 2020 under a certificate of urgency while the Speaker himself presides over proceedings.

The Bill was laid before Parliament on the night of Wednesday, April 01, 2020, by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Gloria Afua Akuffo.

It seeks to give legal backing to the establishment of the COVID-19 National Trust Fund which is intended to complement the efforts of government in the fight against the disease.

The Fund will receive donations for disbursement to individuals who have been negatively impacted by the disease whiles providing support to frontline health workers and people involved in the fight against the novel virus.

It also makes provisions for how the Fund should be managed.

The Speaker also announced that the Legislature will donate an amount of two hundred thousand Ghana Cedis to set the fund rolling.

He urged all Members of Parliament and other workers to contribute to the fund to help the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

A statement signed by Director Public Affairs of the Parliament of Ghana, Ms. Kate Addo noted that Speaker Oquaye has been at the forefront of the fight to prevent the possible introduction and spread of the Coronavirus in Parliament by supervising several preventive measures such as the acquisition of facial masks and installation of alcohol-based hand sanitisers at vantage points in Parliament.

Prof Oquaye also facilitated the provision of sanitizers for Members of Parliament for further distribution to the citizens.

He has also used various platforms to urge all Ghanaians to follow the protocols for preventing the spread of the disease.