Mixed reactions greet budget statement

Centre spread, March 6, 2009
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah, Daniel Nkrumah & Musah Yahaya Jafaru
THE maiden budget of the NDC government, under the Presidency of Professor John Evans Atta Mills, has received varied reactions from the Minority and the Majority sides of Parliament.
After the Minister of Finance had spent close to two hours to present the abridged version of the budget, amid intermittent heckling, the Minority described it as “Sakawa Budget”.
‘Sakawa’ is a local term used to describe Internet fraud.
In the middle of the presentation, MPs from the Minority side stood up holding sheets of paper on which were printed “Sakawa Budget” in bold letters, with the Majority responding by holding up sheets with “Better Ghana Budget” printed on them.
The Minority created laughter in the packed chamber when they responded “ongoing, ongoing” when the minister mentioned a wide range of projects outlined in the budget.
As Dr Duffour continued to drink water occasionally during his presentation, the Minority shouted, “More water, more water”, to which he responded, “Water is life, you know.”
The Deputy Majority Leader, Mr John Tia, described the budget as one which met the aspirations of Ghanaians, saying it was all-encompassing, not restricted to just a few sectors.
He stated that it had a socialist flavour and was a budget for the people, explaining that it would ensure that the rich in the country were appropriately taxed and the money spread to cater for the poor.
Mr Tia said it was one of the best budgets ever read in Parliament and that it would help to significantly address the plight of the poor and improve the standard of living in the country.
The MP for Wa Central, Mr Abdul Rashid Pelpuo, said the budget was comprehensive, as it contained policies to address economic challenges and propel economic development in the country.
He said for the first time the budget was specific on how to address the challenges facing deprived regions and indicated that it would focus on effective resource mobilisation, instead of hinging budget support on borrowing.
The MP for North Tongu, Mr Charles S. Hodogbey, also described the budget as one of the best ever read in the country, saying it was geared towards addressing most of the problems facing the country.
He said it was impressive to note that the budget placed emphasis on cutting costs by reducing government spending, noting that it was also geared towards increasing food production and addressing the unemployment situation in the country.
The MP said the government also demonstrated its commitment to ensure that more Ghanaians benefited from the National Health Insurance Scheme with the proposed introduction of the payment of a one-time premium.
The MP for New Edubiase, Mr Ernest Kofi Yakah, said the budget was an impressive one that covered all areas of the economy, saying the government was determined to implement the good policies and measures outlined in it to improve living conditions in the country.
He said the government, by demonstrating its commitment to reduce petroleum prices, had shown that it had the interest of the people at heart.
For his part, a former Minister of Finance and Economic Planning in the past government, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, noted that Dr Duffour did well by articulating the current economic problems of the country.
He said it was true that the global financial crisis would affect foreign remittances as a result of the loss of jobs by Ghanaians living abroad.
Mr Osafo-Maafo, while describing the budget as “okay”, said it fell short of putting in adequate measures to make up for the expected shortfall in the country’s revenue.
Touching on the government’s commitment to collaborate with the private sector to make the sector the engine of growth, he said the statement should be considered mere rhetoric, since the Finance Minister did not give any clue as to how that was going to be done to achieve the intended objectives.
For his part, a former Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Professor George Gyan-Baffour, said the intended reduction of the prices of petroleum products would not have any serious positive effect on Ghanaians.
He said, however, that the targeted 5.9 per cent growth was achievable, since the country’s current growth was 6.2 per cent.
The Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said the budget was too academic and failed to outline concrete measures to address the socio-economic challenges in the country.
He said, for instance, that the Finance Minister did not spell out how to reduce inflation and prevent the depreciation of the cedi against the foreign currencies.
A former Minister of Trade and Industry, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, described the budget as “business as usual”, since it did not have any bold initiatives to support the economy “in this era of depression”.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah, who is the MP for Sekondi, said the budget could only qualify for a “management budget” which could not rescue the economy and bring about the needed development in the country.
For his part, the MP for Dome-Kwabenya and Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, said energy was at the base of the country’s economy and expressed worry that the Finance Minister did not give any details as to how the government was going to improve the energy sector.
Besides, he said the proposed review of petroleum taxes and petroleum-related levies was a deceptive political ploy to convince Ghanaians that the government had reduced the prices of petroleum products and indicated that it was just a temporary measure.