The Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, is expected to go before parliament this week to present next year�s revenue and expenditure statement for the government and people of Ghana, an item that is normally known as the Budget. In previous years, the reading of the Budget was something that many Ghanaians looked up to, in the light of the fact that it was a determinant of the bread and butter issues of life, seeking as it were to enumerate all the items needed for daily living with their attendant state-determined prices.
However, Ghana moves away from this type of budget many years ago, and these days, it is mainly a statement of government�s projected revenues and how it intends to spend these revenues. It is also an indicator of government policy.
In addition to the Budget, the President is also expected to go before parliament every year go give policy directions on how he intends to govern the nation for the next twelve years, but before that, with the early reading of the Budget, Ghanaians would be presented with a great opportunity to divine the areas of priority and direction that the government intends to take for the next year.
Like many Ghanaians, the Daily Searchlight is doubtful that this year�s budget would be much different from those of preceding years, and indeed may take a racially retrogressive line, given the numerous complaints government has constantly been making about deficits.
It is in the light of the low expectations of the people that this newspaper calls on the Minister of Finance to endeavour, if at all possible, to resist and desist from coming to the people of Ghana with another doom statement.
Indeed, for years, Ghanaians have been tightening their belts with the hope that better days would appear on the horizon, and it is our hope that the Finance Minister would listen to their calls by bringing forth a budget that preaches and targets achievable objectives of progress and growth, instead of calling for further and unnecessary austerity measures!
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