The President said the budget will give meaning to his government’s industrialization agenda which primarily focuses on the creation of jobs.

[contextly_sidebar id=”36G4k1UcLPkoMSs2xtCAByNEWzP2lQWe”]Speaking at a durbar of Chiefs and people of Ga Mashie at Mantse Agbona on day two of his tour of the Greater Accra Region, the President said the budget will also play a key role in strengthening Ghana’s economy.

“Next week, the Finance Minister will present the budget to Parliament and it will focus on job creation. The Finance Minister is a magician; he finds resources at places you never expect him to find.”

Ofori-Atta to deliver 2018 budget on Wednesday

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, is expected to present the 2018 budget statement to Parliament next week Wednesday.

This would be the second budget of the Akufo-Addo administration to be presented by the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, after his first in March 2017, christened the Asempa budget.

There was heavy interest in the 2017 budget statement from stakeholders in all sectors of the economy, due to the number of promises made by the government during the 2016 election campaign.

Among the highlights of the 2017 budget, were the withdrawal of the 1 percent Special Import Levy, 17.5 percent VAT/NHIL on financial services, and 17.5 percent VAT/NHIL on selected imported medicines, that are not produced locally.

The 17.5 percent VAT/NHIL on domestic airline tickets and levies imposed on kayayei by local authorities were also removed.

2018 budget to improve domestic revenue collection

Aside job creation, there are other areas that government intends focusing on in the 2018 budget.

Mr. Ofori Atta had earlier stated that the 2018 budget will also focus on using innovative ways to improve domestic revenue collection for economic development.

He revealed this in the wake of calls from the Institute of Fiscal Studies urging government to use the 2018 budget to improve tax collection by broadening the tax base.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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“We experienced a government that was under performing and it was based on those difficulties that Ghanaians felt that there was the need to change the baton. The baton is in their hands now and we expect that they will work with the sense of urgency to deliver the many jobs Ghanaians are looking up to. That is all that we expect from them, we are not demanding too much, Communications Director of the Progressive People’s PPP Paa Kow Ackon added in a Citi News interview.

President Akufo-Addo during his media encounter in July 2017 said the period was to too short to measure the number of jobs he has created for the youth.

However, his Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo recently said the public sector was full and thus government might be compelled to retrench some employees on its payroll.

But the PPP argued that government has no excuse if it fails to fulfill a major promise that won it, the 2016 elections.

“A lot of people are complaining. We have seen videos of the invisible forces calling on him to deliver on his promise of job creation. When the senior minister announced that they are not going to recruit people into the public service you heard the uproar that came with it.

“You promised that within a certain time frame you were going to deliver on your promises and that is what people are demanding from you. And for us in the PPP we are also interested in seeing the outcome of the promises they made. They must sit up,” Paa Kow Ackon added.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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In recognition of the World Bank data showing that 48% of Ghanaian youth are unemployed which is among the highest in the world, the president admits that job creation will define his presidency hence the need for accelerated job creation.

$2b China Suppliers Credit Facility for 1-District-1-Factory
[contextly_sidebar id=”6Ye8RWhpTwE4G7wpVkClkc9lvPzlF4HK”]In this respect, government in collaboration with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) had arranged a Suppliers Credit Facility for $2billion from China to provide equipment, machinery and other facilities to make 1-District, 1-Factory project a reality.

Govt commits $100m to 1-District, 1-Factory
This is in addition to $100million allocated by government to support the establishment of the district enterprises and the 1-District, 1-Factory project.

$340m from banks towards 1-District-1-Factory
So far, an additional amount of $340million has been leveraged from local banks and financial institutions to support 1-District, 1-Factory initiative.

Govt commits $10m to NEIP
Government has also committed $10million to the National Entrepreneurship and Innovations Plan (NEIP), an innovative scheme, under the Business Development Ministry, to help startups steer their way clear out of the difficult early stages of setting up businesses.

NEIP to be scaled up to $100m by private sector.

The objective of the NEIP is to encourage the private sector to invest into the initiative and leverage it from government’s $10million to $100million.

Govt votes $50m for stimulus package
President Nana Akufo-Addo announced that so far, 80 distressed companies have been adjudged eligible to receive stimulus packages meant for the revival of distressed companies.

Govt votes $50m for stimulus packages 
“At the end of June 2017, 285 applications had been received. So far, 118 of these applications have been screened, of which 80 have been adjudged eligible for various stimulus packages,” he stated.

$20m from local financial institutions for stimulus package

An amount of $20 million has also been earmarked by local financial institutions as part of the stimulus package, the President announced.

The president assured Ghanaians that his government would not renege on the campaign promise to create jobs for the teeming masses and improve their lives.

Progress made in Agriculture 
Conscious of the fact that agriculture remained key to providing the majority of the jobs promised the people of Ghana; the President said his government was paying urgent attention to “the modernisation of our agricultural practices.”

On that score, he said extension officers were being employed to provide hands-on support to farmers, adding “we are generally paying extra attention to every stage of farming.”

“The one-village-one-dam scheme is taking off in the three northern regions with the rehabilitation of the existing ones that are in sad states of disrepair. Planting for Food and Jobs, one of our flagship initiatives, has also started with increasing enthusiasm,” President Akufo Addo said.

He said that planting for Food and Jobs programme had registered 185,000 farmers out of the 200,000 targeted.

Government, he announced was bearing 50 per cent of the cost of fertiliser for farmers in that project, adding that 80,037 tonnes of fertiliser had been distributed to farmers enrolled on the programme while 35,747 metric tonnes of seedlings had also been supplied to farmers.

Economic gains in 6 months
Turning to economic activities, the President said the gradual decline in the cost of borrowing and the increase in banks’ credit to the private sector was encouraging.

The monetary policy rate (MPR) of the Bank of Ghana has been cut from 25.5 percent to 22.5 percent and could be trending further down, while inflation had within a period of six months gone down from 15.4 per cent in December 2016 to 12.1 per cent in June 2017, the lowest in four years.

The benchmark 91-day Treasury Bill (T-bill) rate which was 22.8 percent in January 2016 has narrowed to 11.9 percent in June 2017, the lowest in 5 years.

The President however, admitted that there was more to do “to bring down the cost of borrowing to enable businesses to have access to much needed credit.”

“It is my hope and expectation that these statistics will soon translate into tangible benefits in the lives of Ghanaians,” he noted.

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Credit: Business Finder

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This according to a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Ernest Aryeetey, is because the sector has the potential of solving the frightening unemployment rate that has bedeviled the country.

The Ghana Labour Force Survey Report by the Ghana Statistical Service, projected Ghana’s current unemployment rate at 11.9%.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Y8ueytJMigSgyJocOXgcUeBFR6Ymv6nV”]Professor Aryeetey, while speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Monday, explained that there would be more job opportunities for most graduates if there is a comprehensive plan to improve the manufacturing sector.

“My view tends to be that, we are interested in employment; you cannot afford to create these jobs by overlooking manufacturing. So I will strongly advocate that we pay attention to the link between agriculture and manufacturing, and of course with services.”

“Manufacturing is one that traditionally has created modern sector employment. Manufacturing is what is going to absorb all the young men and women leaving your polytechnics and universities,” he said, adding that, “If we are not able to create jobs in Ghana today, it’s because our manufacturing has not performed well.”

Ghana not service driven economy

The Professor, who is an economist, further dispelled claims that Ghana is gradually becoming a service driven economy.

“I always argue that, Ghana has not followed the traditional pattern of progression. Traditionally, you would have expected an economy that was dominated by Agriculture to move to manufacturing. That’s what economic history teaches us. As a result of changes in technology available to the world, driven largely by globalization, we’ve made a transition from agriculture into services, but let’s not deceive ourselves into calling the economy of Ghana a service driven economy, it is not. It is only partially so.”

Prof. Aryeetey would today [Monday], launch a book he co-authored with a British trained economist, Ravi Kanbur, titled: “The economy of Ghana; 60 years after independence.”

Ravi Kanbur is a British trained economist and an international professor of applied economics and management.

Click here for the full interview:

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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