President Nana Akufo-Addo has said the funding for the free senior high school programme will come from the consolidated fund.

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"It is being funded from the budget," he said. "We have begun a new commitment... to fund free senior high school programme. We have begun from the budgetary sources, a more efficient use of our resources, we have found the money to begin the process. We will find the money to begin the process. You can count on us to find the money to sustain the programme.

He assured that the free SHS programme is not a political "gimmick."

"This matter is not, and I kept saying, I want to repeat this again, it is not a political gimmick, it goes to the heart of our effort to develop our country.

"Unfortunately [at] this stage of our history, the numbers of people which have access to education but because of money they cannot are much more than those who are able to enter the system."

His comments follow calls for him to declare a dedicated source of funding for his flagship programme.

Asked if the numerous tax cuts will not compromise the funding of the programme, coupled with his "elephant-sized"  government, the president said measures are being put in place to grow the consolidated fund.

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“Most of the funding is coming from the consolidated fund and the consolidated fund is going to grow, it will not shrink because of the measures with the taxes, the measures that we have taken to remove what is now known in political lexicon as nuisance taxes," he said.“What you have to get your mind around is that we are staking the fortunes of our government on a simple principle that if we can provide the stimulus that will allow the private sector to grow, that is the way we can create prosperity and create jobs and create higher and higher income levels,” he said.