In an open letter to the President, Mr. Ablakwa said the President’s silence on the matter was uncharacteristic of the man known to be very vocal.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Bimv3xDugUIvJnVEEqlC8mKQQbDK3Zo6″]“Respectfully, Mr President, you can therefore understand why most of us are extremely surprised at your sudden belief in silence. Your silence on the agreement issue is very much out of character, and we are sincerely befuddled. Everybody is saying this is not the man we have known from ‘titi [ since time immemorial]’.”

He said the President’s silence and the government’s attempts to divert attention from the matter with the “the high-handed and dramatic arrest of Koku Anyidoho and the change of name of the Flagstaff House to Jubilee House have so far not worked according to plan.”

In Mr. Ablakwa’s view, the president’s silence on the matter amounted to a dereliction of duty, and was also tarnishing his reputation as one of Africa’s most influential leaders.

“It’s a real tragedy that this singular agreement and US$20 million dollars threaten to destroy everything. A similar defence cooperation agreement between the Kenyan Government and the British Government which has gone viral on social media has deepened our woes, and Ghana, a country used to be the trailblazer and shining example for other African countries is now becoming an object of ridicule on the continent.”

The North Tongu MP thus dared the President to defend the agreement that was sparked by his discussion with US President Donald Trump, according to Paragraph 4 of the Preamble of the agreement.

“Is Mr. President not proud of his agreement and therefore not bold to man up and defend it with all your acclaimed reputation in advocacy? What did President Trump tell you in that “recent dialogue” that suddenly makes you so averse to listening to and speaking to your own people on this particular issue? What really is in this agreement for you, Mr. President? Is your silence borne out of an effort to hide something from Ghanaians?”

“It is for this reason, Mr. President, that a higher obligation is imposed on you to engage Ghanaians and take steps to renegotiate with the Americans those articles in the Agreement that the overwhelming majority of Ghanaians are affronted by, and compromises their sacred sovereignty,” Mr Ablakwa said in his letter.

Mr. Ablakwa’s full letter can be seen here

‘Controversial’ components

Parliament last month approved the Ghana-US Military cooperation agreement, which seeks to give US forces access to some critical national installations for their exclusive use.

The pact, which has sparked widespread controversy, was approved without the Minority in Parliament who were opposed to it.

Cabinet had agreed to provide the US’ military with a place near the Kotoka International Airport and also give them unhindered access to some key installations following a Memorandum of Understanding between the government of Ghana and the US government.

The MoU was laid before Parliament, recommending that the House ratify the agreement, but the opposition rejected it.

With the agreement was ratified, it meant that the US army will among other things would be exempted from paying taxes on equipment that are brought to Ghana as well as use Ghana’s radio spectrum for free.

Although many Ghanaians have expressed resentment over the clauses of the agreement, the Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, said the deal is in the best interest of Ghana.

The Government has consistently explained that it was only respecting the existing Status of Forces Agreement with the US signed since 1998 and reviewed in 2015, under the previous NDC administration.

–

By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Renegotiate US ‘military base’ deal – Ablakwa dares Nana Addo appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Ablakwa said this was “mere rhetoric” that will not address the main TVET challenges.

[contextly_sidebar id=”WsRsuXmvleL48kzW5iaYBwcWKyTKegUl”]He was commenting on President Nana Akufo-Addo’s announcement that this initiative will be launched later in the in 2018 to help equip the youth with skills for the transformation of the Ghanaian economy.

The initiative implies that, students within the various technical and vocational institutions will attend school free of charge.

Also speaking on Eyewitness News, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, a Deputy Education Minister, said over 200 TVET institutions are expected to benefit from this.

The TVET institutions would come under the umbrella of the yet-to-be-established Technical Vocational Education Service.

Initiative nothing new

Mr. Ablakwa remarked that this initiative was nothing new.

The 2018 budget indicated that TVET reforms will see the alignment of public TVET institutions under the Ministry of Education.

“The impression that we got from the President’s speech was as though there was going to be a special programme for TVET. It is exactly not the case. It is clear that some TVET institutions are benefiting as we were told… What is really going to happen now is a realignment of TVET institutions that are now going to be brought under the Ministry of Education,” he pointed out.

But the former deputy Minister said there were more pressing challenges confronting TVET having to do with infrastructure and patronage.

“The challenge confronting technical vocational education in our country is not an issue of affordability. It is about investing in the sector. TVET is very expensive. You need the tools. You need the equipment… they have not raised additional funds for TVET and that is really where we need to pay attention.”

He noted that monetary commitment from the Akufo-Addo administration’s first two budgets left a lot to be desired.

“The 2017 budget, the 2018 budget, the GETFund formula for 2018 did not address this. If we had not secured the $125 million, there would have been no funding for TVET… they are only relying on the $125 million we raised for the development of skills for Industry projects.”

“Secondly, how to re-brand… the challenge in our country is that the youth do not find TVET attractive so everybody wants to obtain grammar type education,” he added.

Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Deputy Education Minister, agreed with Mr. Ablakwa’s claim that some TVET institutions were already benefiting from the Free SHS.

According to him, about 47 schools in that sector are indeed covered under the Free SHS policy.

–

By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Making TVET education free ‘not a special program’ – Ablakwa appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This, the Minority MPs say will be in line with requirements of the Securities and Intelligence Agencies Act.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament, the MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said successive governments have violated the Act.

Mr. Ablakwa quoted the Securities and intelligence Agencies Act saying, “the President shall assign ministerial responsibility to the intelligence agencies to such Minister as the President shall consider appropriate. The minister assigned responsibility shall in respect of each year submit a report to Parliament on the intelligence agencies.”

Mr. Ablakwa also said that the report was more critical now than before, considering the current security challenges facing the country.

“Since I have been in this House, I don’t recall ever seeing a report from the Minister responsible for the National Security Council and this is a time that as a House, we are all discussing how we can help in the fight against armed robbery and all of that. Such a report will be very useful to this House as we deliberate to see what support our intelligence agencies require. So I want to draw the attention of leadership so that the Securities and Intelligence Agencies Act will be respected,” the MP stated.

–

By: Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post National Security Minister must present annual report – Minority appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to Ablakwa, who was adamant on the allegations that the Ministry of Trade and organizers of the awards collected monies ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 from the expatriates to enable them to sit close to President Akufo-Addo at the awards, he cannot be intimidated by the directive.

“I am not one to be intimidated in the discharge of my constitutional duties, therefore, I can’t wait to appear before the Privileges Committee or any other Committee as the Speaker may so direct considering that I am of the fullest conviction and the clearest of conscience that the facts and the truth are and have always been on our side,” he added in a Facebook post.

[contextly_sidebar id=”MRDc5W4UTTCW6c5pz3mdj4WVZb6u6ktq”]The Speaker of Parliament on Tuesday referred the findings of the 5-member ad-hoc committee to the privileges committee tasking the committee to investigate the source of the allegations and other related matters.

This follows the adoption of the 146-page report of the committee chaired by Majority Chief Whip, Kwasi Ameyaw Cheremeh, which exonerated the Trades and Industry Ministry and organizers of the awards of any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, the Minority has said the adopted report is far from the truth and thus, did not participate in the debate on Tuesday.

And Ablakwa, who was one of the main witnesses in the case believes the Majority is trying to suppress the Minority’s views. adding that such an action “can only amount to a travesty in Parliament [and] is a pathetic addition to the countless comedy of contradictions and conflicting accounts that Government has been engaged in since this scandal erupted.”

Ashim Morton to sue Ablakwa, Muntaka?
In a related development, the Millennium Excellence Foundation, the organization that hosted the awards, has said it is considering a court action against two minority Members of Parliament over the cash-for-seat allegations.

According to the lawyer for the foundation, Peter Zwennes, the two MPs – Okudzeto Ablakwa and the Minority Chief Whip Muntaka Mubarak, should be stripped of any parliamentary immunity in order for them to be dragged to court, because their actions were “irresponsible.”

“The propagation of such irresponsible and destructive falsehood made against my client should not be availed the cloak of parliamentary immunity which, if had been said in anywhere else in the open, will certainly be giving rise to a meritorious court action in defamation. The foundation is still considering its options and they are still available to us,” the lawyer stated at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday.

Below is Ablakwa’s full post:

Rather a farcical fatal tragedy that the Majority in Parliament could not suppress partisan interest in favour of their conscience and the national interest in the Cash for Seat Scandal.

Thankful to God, the proceedings of the Special Committee were conducted in the full glare of the public making today’s attempted cover-up in Parliament laughable and an exercise in futility.

Ghanaians have always been discerning and know Founder Chairman Ambassador President Ashim Morton cannot take President Akufo-Addo’s place. More fundamentally; Ghanaians know it cannot be right, ethical, moral, legal nor conscionable to sell access to the President of Ghana to the highest bidder.

Today’s charade which can only amount to a travesty in Parliament is a pathetic addition to the countless comedy of contradictions and conflicting accounts that Government has been engaged in since this scandal erupted.

I am not one to be intimidated in the discharge of my constitutional duties, therefore, I can’t wait to appear before the Privileges Committee or any other Committee as the Speaker may so direct considering that I am of the fullest conviction and the clearest of conscience that the facts and the truth are and have always been on our side.

Truth stands.

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa

MP, North Tongu

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Cash-for-seat: Ablakwa unfazed by report referral to Privileges C’ttee appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Ablakwa said the firestorm generated in response to the agreement, including fears of the terror attacks were alarmist.

[contextly_sidebar id=”BMKKDXoZ1K6xQuwNpOR8IGKDiv2XabZy”]”There hasn’t been any of these situations that critics of our administration at the time put out against us. In hindsight, it is clear that due diligence was carried out and these two are not harmful,” he said.

The two detainees, Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby, who were in detention for 14 years after being linked with terrorist group Al-Qaeda, were brought to Ghana in 2016, for a period of two years, which expired on January 6, 2018.

The move was criticized by many observers including the then-in-opposition New Patriotic Party, who described the two as a security threat despite assurances to the contrary by the US.

The current Information Minister, Mustapha Abdul Hamid, at the time, argued that central to the Jihadi ideology is the assertion that a friend of your enemy is also your enemy, hence, though Ghana may have received them out of generosity, in the mind of a Jihadist, Ghana becomes a legitimate target for attacks.

He also said the government at the time was ignorant about radical Islam ideologies.

But after the change in power, the NPP government had a legitimate opportunity to send the two Yemeni packing.

The Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional, the agreement between the Mahama government and the United States and ordered the government to send the agreement to Parliament for ratification or have the two detainees sent back to the US.

When the time came, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, indicated in Parliament that the Akufo-Addo administration had not altered the formal agreement between Ghana and the United States over the two, thus keeping them in Ghana till the January 6, 2018, expiry date.

‘Give gov’t space to decide’

Mr. Ablakwa, who said he was “indifferent” as to whether the two should be allowed to stay or leave, said the NPP government should be given space to act on the matter.

“…I think the government would have to be accorded the respect that they ought to have to be taking the decision on our behalf. They can decide to engage in consultations. They can decide to bring it to Parliament at some point… The can decide to be consistent with their initial position when they were in opposition that the decision to receive them was not really a good one.”

Whatever the decision, he also expects the matter to make its way to Parliament following the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling.

“After the Supreme Court decision, the Executive no longer has a choice. Whatever they decide with the Americans, they would have to bring the agreement to Parliament for ratification,” Mr. Ablakwa stated.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Ministry is engaging with the US and will make any new developments on the matter public in the next couple of days, according to the Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid.

–

By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post ‘Peaceful’ Gitmo 2 have vindicated Mahama gov’t – Ablakwa appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The two, who are also Members of Parliament, were engaged in a strong exchange of words with Mr. Ahenkorah describing Okudzeto Ablakwa as a “big liar” making baseless allegations against the government.

[contextly_sidebar id=”o5U4DCpC1sL2LFgAE4QVEGcPCPkxZKZc”]The Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak, alleged last week that the Ministry of Trade and Industry, charged the expatriates between $25,000 and $100,000 each, to offer them seats close to the President at an awards ceremony.

The Asawase legislator argued that the fees charged at the event were not the kind of fees approved by Parliament, and that the monies were also not accounted for in the Internally Generated Funds [IGF] of the Ministry’s accounts.

The Ministry however in a statement challenging the claims, said it played no role in determining prices for seats at the event.

It added that, it only facilitated the implementation of the new initiative [GEBA], by the Millennium Excellence Foundation, an entity noted for organizing world class events.

“As a Government that believes in the private sector as the engine of growth, the Government through the Ministry of Trade and Industry welcomed the initiative to collaborate with the Foundation to see to the birthing of the initiative. The Ministry consequently signed an MoU with the Foundation that spelt out the roles of both parties. Resource mobilization to ensure that the event was organized at no cost to the taxpayer was the sole responsibility of the Foundation”

“The Ministry only wrote letters to introduce the Millennium Excellence Foundation to sponsors and solicited support whilst the Foundation prepared the sponsorship package kits and presented it to potential sponsors at a later date. It is very worrying for people who are expected to know better (especially if some happen to be leading members of the august House of Parliament) to conveniently join the streets wagon in pursuit of petty partisan parochial interests to churn out deliberate falsehood to perpetuate the fallacy that access to the President has to be secured with financial inducements,” excerpts of the statement said.

But Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa in a statement reacting to the Ministry’s response, called on them to apologize to President Akufo-Addo for embarrassing him, insisting that the incident indeed happened and that the government is culpable.

“The least the Ministry of Trade and Industry should be doing at this point instead of seeking to justify their shameful conduct, is to apologize to President Akufo-Addo, that is, if he did not grant his blessings for this desecration of the high office he occupies, apologize to Ghanaians and refund the extorted sums to the expats,” he said.

However, when he met with the Deputy Trade Minister in Parliament for a media interview on the matter, the two were almost engaged in fisticuffs as Carlos Ahenkorah claimed Mr. Ablakwa was churning out baseless information to denigrate his Ministry and the Minister.

“You lied all your life through politics…You are a big liar. Where are your facts. Show me the documents you have. You don’t have anything because all that you are saying is just coming from your mind… Don’t touch me… Let him know that he is a thief. You have stolen through your life. You have even lied through your education,” Carlos Ahenkorah remarked during the altercation.

His utterances subsequently forced Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa to walk out of the interview, noting that the Deputy Minister was reacting harshly because he was uncomfortable with the revelation.

“You can tell from the Minister’s attitude that he is clearly uncomfortable with this matter and he stands exposed… I think as a public officer he has to behave himself,” he said.

Listen to what happened below:

–

By: Joans Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Ablakwa, Ahenkorah in near-fight over alleged Trade Ministry extortion appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He however admitted that, there is the need for a dedicated source of funding for the programme if it is to be successful.

[contextly_sidebar id=”9TxPg4oz3D9unnwcisaKYrVxYNBFhnnI”]Mr. Ablakwa’s comment comes on the back of a suggestion by New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alex Afenyo Markin, that government could consider taxing Ghanaians in order to accrue funds to finance its flagship free Senior High School (SHS) policy.

According to him, sustaining the policy was so crucial that risking the anger of Ghanaians by imposing a special tax to fund it will not be out of order.

“We want to sustain the policy. The policy is at a cost to the state. If it means that at a point, some taxation should be imposed to sustain it, it wouldn’t be far-fetched. If I get any opportunity in government circles, I will suggest it,” the legislator has said.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Tuesday, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said it would be unfortunate to tax Ghanaians who were already struggling with the numerous tax obligations they are required to meet.

He argued that having a dedicated funding source for the programme should not necessarily result in the introduction of an additional tax.

“The tax is certainly going to increase the already ongoing hardship which Ghanaians are complaining about generally. If you talk to the business community, they are talking about the cost of doing business now being very high, importers are complaining that duties are going through the roof” he said.

Other sources

The government had in the 2018 budget statement, announced that it would set up a fund to receive voluntary contributions from individuals to support the implementation of the free SHS programme and the educational sector as a whole.

However, this plan has been criticized by the Minority who believe this is an indication that government does not have the funds to properly implement its much-touted programme.

The Member of Parliament for the North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said the government cannot afford to rely on voluntary contributions to fund education, particularly free SHS, as projections for those funds may not materialize.

“No country runs public education on just voluntary funds. What if the Fund is not considered attractive and you don’t really get as much as you are expecting. We can’t leave the destiny of our children’s quality education to just a voluntary fund where we don’t really know the projections. You cannot just depend on voluntary funds, you can’t run education that way. You need a concrete plan and you need a well-defined funding source. It’s clear that government is struggling to fund it and struggling to identify a clear funding source,” he had said.

The government has also been encouraged by ACEP to immediately pass the Mineral Revenue Management Act to serve as an additional source of funding for the programme.

“ACEP recommends that the government should pass the promised Mineral Revenue Management Act to create additional sources of funds from solid minerals to finance the free SHS policy,” the policy think tank stated in a 10-page document analyzing the 2018 budget with regards to oil and gas,” the think-tank said.

–

By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post ‘Free SHS tax’ will burden Ghanaians – Ablakwa appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The government announced that it would set up a fund to receive voluntary contributions from individuals to support the implementation of the free SHS programme and the educational sector as a whole.

However, this plan has been criticized by the Minority who believe this is an indication that government does not have the funds to properly implement its much-touted programme.

According to Ablakwa, putting a lot of expectations on money which would be accrued from the fund could backfire as it may not appeal to Ghanaians enough to voluntarily contribute to it.

“No country runs public education on just voluntary funds. What if the Fund is not considered attractive and you don’t really get as much as you are expecting. We can’t leave the destiny of our children’s quality education to just a voluntary fund where we don’t really know the projections. You cannot just depend on voluntary funds, you can’t run education that way. You need a concrete plan and you need a well-defined funding source. It’s clear that government is struggling to fund it and struggling to identify a clear funding source.”

Budgetary allocation for Free SHS ‘woefully inadequate’ – Ablakwa

Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa has already described the government’s budgetary allocation for Free SHS as woefully inadequate to support the programme.

According to him, government would need at least two billion cedis to support Free SHS in 2018, 800 million cedis more than the amount that was allocated to it in the budget.

“It is clear that there are real challenges, and sadly, we didn’t hear of a Marshall Plan. I thought there was going to be a huge plan based on the assurances the President had given the nation that he was aware of the challenges with free SHS and that the nation should expect that it will be addressed soon. Unfortunately, the 2018 budget did not present a Marshall Plan to address these challenges. What we are seeing is an inadequate allocation in the budget; 1.2 billion is woefully inadequate for four terms for the 2018 fiscal year,” the former deputy education minister said on the Point Blank segment of Eyewitness News.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) government’s flagship free Senior High School programme was launched in September as part of measures to ensure all Ghanaian children are educated,  at least, up to the SHS level.

However, since its introduction, the programme has encountered a number of issues, mostly in relation to the capacity of the schools and the availability of desks for and other infrastructure for students.

The President and Education Minister have assured Ghanaians that the challenges would be addressed to ensure that the students receive the full benefits of the programme.

However, according to Mr. Ablakwa, the government failed to present a clear strategy in the 2018 budget statement to fix the issues despite their assurances.

Presenting the 2018 budget statement in Parliament on Wednesday, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta said the Voluntary Fund had become necessary following numerous proposals the government had received from Ghanaians who wanted to invest in the educational sector.

“With the successful launch of the free SHS programme, government received proposals from the public, several of which encourage the establishment of a fund to receive voluntary contributions to support education. Thankfully, the GETFund Law allows for the setting up of other education-related funds. In 2018, the Ministry will work with GET FUND to set up this education fund to enable Ghanaians make voluntary contributions to support education,” he added.

‘Provide clarity on voluntary funds’

The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC), is also raising concerns with the intended voluntary education Fund.

The Chairman of the Coalition,  Bright Appiah, speaking on Eyewitness News, said that while government is justified in its attempts to diversify funding for the free SHS programme, the uncertainty surrounding the creation of the voluntary fund could be detrimental to its implementation.

“We want to know what the fund is going to do as far as the Free SHS programme is concerned. If you look at the budget that the Finance Minister read, they have made some allocations to that sector, and how it will be disbursed. We have indicated that if you look at the number of children we have in the SHSs, that money will not be enough for the kind of programme we want to run,” he said.

He urged the government to provide specifics on how much it is expecting to accrue from the fund and what they intend to use it for.

“If Government wants to look for alternative sources of funding for Free SHS, it’s all good. We are not against the setting up of the fund itself, but the Ministry of Finance and those in charge of it should be bold enough to explain to the public, what it is going to be used for. We are not certain as to how much we are going to get into that fund. There’s some uncertainty around it and I feel once we are funding a free SHS programme, we should be certain as to how much we need and how much is available to fund it.”
–
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post You can’t rely on voluntary contributions for Free SHS- Ablakwa appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, government would need at least two billion cedis to support Free SHS in 2018, 800 million cedis more than the amount that was allocated to it in the budget.

[contextly_sidebar id=”wyNSSYNiYum3Eo5MHbswsZjwx1kcPnXB”]“It is clear that there are real challenges, and sadly, we didn’t hear of a Marshall Plan. I thought there was going to be a huge plan based on the assurances the President had given the nation that he was aware of the challenges with free SHS and that the nation should expect that it will be addressed soon. Unfortunately, the 2018 budget did not present a Marshall Plan to address these challenges. What we are seeing is an inadequate allocation in the budget; 1.2 billion is woefully inadequate for four terms for the 2018 fiscal year,” the former deputy education minister said on the Point Blank segment of Eyewitness News.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) government’s flagship free Senior High School programme was launched in September as part of measures to ensure all Ghanaian children are educated,  at least, up to the SHS level.

However, since its introduction, the programme has encountered a number of issues, mostly in relation to the capacity of the schools and the availability of desks for and other infrastructure for students.

The President and Education Minister have assured Ghanaians that the challenges would be addressed to ensure that the students receive the full benefits of the programme.

However, according to Mr. Ablakwa, the government failed to present a clear strategy in the 2018 budget statement to fix the issues despite their assurances.

‘You can’t run education with voluntary funds’

The government announced that it would set up a fund to receive voluntary contributions from individuals to support the implementation of the free SHS programme and the educational sector as a whole.

However, this plan has come under fire from the Minority who believe this is an indication that government does not have the funds to properly implement its much-touted programme.

And according to Okudzeto Ablakwa, the government cannot afford to rely on the voluntary funds as a source of funding for free SHS, as projections for those funds may not materialize.

“No country runs public education on just voluntary funds. What if the Fund is not considered attractive and you don’t really get as much as you are expecting. We can’t leave the destiny of our children’s quality education to just a voluntary fund where we don’t really know the projections. Meanwhile there’s an 800 million-cedi gap as we speak. You’ve only allocated 1.2 billion but you need two billion cedis, at least to sustain free SHS for the 2018 fiscal year,” he argued.

“You cannot just depend on voluntary funds, you can’t run education that way. You need a concrete plan and you need a well-defined funding source. It’s clear that government is struggling to fund it and struggling to identify a clear funding source.”
–
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Budgetary allocation for Free SHS ‘woefully inadequate’ – Ablakwa appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The MP for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, described the upcoming budget as an ‘ahokyerɛ’ budget which translates as ‘suffering or hardship’ budget, suggesting that it would not address the employment or income challenges of Ghanaians.

[contextly_sidebar id=”3pgLJJEbiGr3pgELJgb4zKkKLXY6qAKv”] According to him, government had failed to meet its revenue targets, resulting in them being unable to fulfill a number of promises and assurances they had made Ghanaians.

He believes that despite the “fanciful” words that will be used by Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, in his presentation on Wednesday, the budget will ultimately “produce nothing in the end”

“This budget will be an ahokyerɛ budget.Revenue targets have not been met, commitments to promises have not been delivered, money is not available, there is deep doubt that employment can be created because employment creation is production-driven. Industries must produce and production is demand-driven. And for people to have demand for goods and services, people must have income,” he said.

“The economy is not expanding because there’s no money. Because there’s no money, industry can’t produce a stockpile and because of that they retrench workers to be able to stay afloat or they won’t employ at all. Because there’s no employment, the teeming masses will go to the public service for jobs. The government won’t spend because they aren’t getting the revenue. In the first three quarters, the government is under-performing in terms of revenue mobilization. There’s no money to spend so how will it provide the impetus for the economy to grow and expand and create the necessary conditions for employment?”

Tamale North MP, Alhassan Suhuyini also expressed similar sentiments, stating that there is little hope that the 2018 budget will stimulate the growth of the economy.

According to the legislator, checks from Ghanaians who had celebrated following the presentation of the 2017 budget in March would show that those same people were in better conditions under the NDC administration.

He believes that Wednesday’s budget will be “another round of huge doses of bible quotations and sloganeering” which will eventually “have nothing impactful by way of transformation”

“It’s important that we recollect what was promised and ask ourselves if, beyond the media blitz that greeted the 2017 presentation, there is something on the ground that justifies what we saw. It’s important that we talk to the people at the ports and at Abossey Okai who jubilated earlier, as we await the 2018 budget. I am convinced that they will have no other verdict than what the Minority predicted at the time that this was a budget with very little by way of transforming the economy and creating jobs,” Alhassan Suhuyini told Citi News

The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, hinted over the weekend at the Association of Ghanaian Industries Awards (AGI) dinner, that electricity tariffs will be reviewed downwards soon.

According to Nana Addo, details of the review will be announced by Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta at the 2018 budget reading in Parliament.

The high electricity tariffs were a major part of the NPP’s campaign ahead of the 2016 elections, with many of the party’s communicators claiming that electricity cost more than rent.

However, Suhuyini believes that Ghanaians paid less for electricity and petroleum products and had better prospects for quality infrastructure under the NDC.

“The Ghanaian used to pay less for electricity and fuel under the NDC than they do today. The Ghanaian used to have more hope of government extending roads to their areas than they have today.

He also suggested that the Minority had been vindicated in their criticism of the NPP’s Free SHS programme stating that they had predicted the challenges with capacity which had characterised the initial stages of the rollout of the policy.

“When we in the NDC said in the past that free SHS was impossible, it was not because the government at the time could not find money to erect billboards or do a launch and declare it commissioned. But it was because of the practical impossibilities. When you go to the schools, are the conditions the students studying under the same conditions you would want your siblings to be in? We said that if they introduced the Free SHS as they promised, we’ll have students sitting outside.”

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, questioned government’s revenue mobilization ability and their failure to meet a number of the commitments they put out in the 2017 budget.

He told Citi News that he expects the government to outline strategies towards achieving the targets stated in the 2017 budget, whilst offering solutions to their revenue generation problem.

“My expectations for the budget is really how the government plans to address a number of pledges made in the 2017 budget which have not been fulfilled. The one million dollar per constituency disbursement did not take place. The 2018 budget would have to address it because they pledged in their manifesto that every year constituencies would get one million dollars so that means they’ll have to raise 2 million in 2018 because last year is in arrears.”

–

By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Ofori Atta will present ‘ahokyerɛ’ budget – Minority MPs appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.