<<Print>>

The Minority in Parliament has described the 2013 Budget of the government as �a journey to nowhere� and a policy lacking in bold initiatives to address the country�s problems. Seconding the motion to adjourn sitting on the floor of Parliament after the budget had been read and later in an interview with journalists after proceedings, the Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said, �From what has been read by the Minister of Finance, Mr Seth Tekper, the Minority has been vindicated and the cat is out of the bag.� He said in a country where agriculture, industry, trade and tourism were dwindling, it was expected that the budget would contain policies to halt the decline in those sectors. Apart from the failure of the budget to address those issues, he said, it also failed to state what plans the government had to stop its competition with private enterprises for capital on the domestic market, as well as overspending. Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said when the Minority held a press conference about a week ago to state what, in its opinion, was the true state of the nation, it was lampooned. He, however, said the budget had confirmed that the 7.1 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate the Minority had put out was correct. He said in 2007 and 2008, without oil revenues, the country�s GDP grew by 7.5 per cent and 8.4 per cent, respectively, and expressed surprise that with huge inflows from the sale of oil, the growth rate had rather dipped to 7.1 per cent. �So what is the real growth of the traditional economy?� he asked. �We were looking for bold policies to propel the economy. We didn�t hear that from the minister,� he said. He expressed the hope that the Appropriation Bill would be brought before Parliament in time for perusal, digestion and approval. Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the Minority was looking forward to debating the budget and promised an exciting debate. The Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Dr Anthony Akoto-Osei, said the government�s pledge to reduce the budget deficit from 12 to nine per cent of GDP required massive budget cuts of about GH�5 billion, yet the Minister of Finance failed to state exactly how that was going to be achieved. �How are we going to get there? Is the government planning to fire people? How are we going to achieve that?� he asked. He said there were no new initiatives in the budget and expressed the hope that a more detailed document would be presented to Parliament for perusal and debate. A leading member of the People�s National Convention (PNC), Mr Bernard Mornah, was of the view that the government touched on very important issues in the budget. He said plans to widen the corporate tax net were a step in the right direction, adding that it was an area where companies faltered. He was, however, disappointed that the budget never stated what initiatives had been put in place to ensure growth in the shea butter industry, saying the crop had the potential to overtake cocoa as the highest foreign exchange earner for Ghana. Mr Mornah was also unhappy about the absence of any policy to revamp the industrial sector, saying lack of a viable industrial sector would result in the inability of the country to add value to exports, resulting in the inability to create employment. He also wondered why the government did not state plans it had to reduce food imports, saying initiatives to increase food production would ensure that food imports were reduced. He said Ghanaian farmers, if supported, could help the country attain food security and was disappointed that there was no policy in that area. He was glad that the Minority group was present in the House but said it was �shameful� that the Minority Leader did not use the occasion to apologise to the public for its earlier boycott of proceedings involving the President and his appointees. The Majority side greeted the budget with a standing ovation after Mr Tekper had completed his one-and-a-half hour presentation. The minister was full of smiles during the entire period and occasionally made eye contact with some members on the Minority side. Story by Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah & Mark-Anthony Vinorkor