News:
March 12, 2021
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs with additional responsibility on Finance Ministry, Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu in presenting this year’s budget on Friday, March 12, 2021 noted that the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is projected at five percent.
As non-oil real GDP growth is projected at six point seven percent and in terms of sectorial growth, the agriculture sector is expected to grow at four percent with industry sector at four point eight percent and the service sector at five point six percent.
“Mr. Speaker, monetary policy in 2021 and the medium-term will continue to hinge on sustaining price stability with a view to firmly anchoring inflation expectations and creating conditions favorable to growth.
It would aim at steering inflation back within the medium-term target of eight plus two percent broad money supply growth is projected to moderate this year in line with inflation.
And in revenue mobilization because of the pandemic times are hard for many people, but it’s important we rebuild and strengthen public finance to provide the necessary resources to protect the lives and livelihood of Ghanaians.”
“Mr. Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused additional health spending that far exceeds the annual budget for health, procurement of vaccines the first batch of six hundred thousand dose from the COVAX facility have already been delivered and additional seventeen million, six hundred thousand vaccines would be delivered by June with more to come in the course of the year.
He further pointed out that sanitation and pollution levy would be introduced, adding that despite the progress made, there is still a lot to be done in improving urban air quality and combat air pollution, support the re-engineering of landfill sites at Kpone and Oti.
Again, support the fumigation of public spaces, schools, health centers and markets in addition revamp reconstruct poorly managed landfill facilities and construct more sustainable state of the art waste treatment plants both solid and liquid in selected locations across the country.
There would be construction of medical waste treatment facilities to prevent generation of infectious disease especially under the coronavirus treatment progamme, and further construct more sanitation facilities to accelerate the elimination of open defecation, the Minister stated.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com