A lecturer at the Economics Department of the University of Ghana, Dr. Adu Sarkodie, has suggested that the 2017 budget should consider reducing the country’s expenditure by cutting down on the ten earmarked funds.
According to Dr. Sarkodie, the country spends too much resources on the various earmarked funds which have not been effectively managed over the years.
[contextly_sidebar id=”T5CPBZZtzwAtvP9EMaV2upxhXRUpLwVl”]“Three components have always taken so much of the resources; the earmarked funds, interest payments and salaries and wages. So we have to deal with these 3 main components. We can start by tackling the ten earmarked. Most of them are not being efficiently managed. The District Assembly Common Fund, Road fund, GETFund, and all the others are not effectively being managed well.”
“The ministries must be able to review all the 10 earmarked funds and abolish some of them they think should be abolished; and reduce those that need to, in order to create space for government to operate,” he said.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on [Wednesday, March 1, 2017], ahead of the budget statement today [Thursday], Dr. Sarkodie said although he expects the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to reiterate its manifesto promises and outline the means for financing them, they must also announce ways of reducing expenditure and increase the country’s income.
He advised the government to consider targeting the un-taxed informal sector by introducing new taxes to raise money.
He further urged the government to create a friendly business atmosphere to allow private businesses contribute effectively to the economy.
“The budget will not be anything different from the manifesto of the NPP because most parties implement their manifesto. I would want to suggest that the government put in place the environment for the private sector to participate well. We must reduce the policy. We must make sure that the energy sector must be revamped because if you are inviting someone to invest and set up a company in your country now, I don’t think that company can thrive.”
“I’m not saying they [the government] are ambitious, I don’t think they are ambitious; but whatever strategy they can use to get the funds, they should use it to finance their policies,” he said.
Ghana’s finance minister, Ken Ofori Atta, is expected to deliver the NPP government’s first budget statement before parliament today, [Thursday, March 2, 2017], which many are expecting to contain details of how the government intends to finance its various election 2016 campaign promises.
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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor