News:
Samuel A. Jinapor
November 25, 2021
Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor in his contribution to the 2022 budget on Wednesday, November 24, 2021 told Parliament Ghana is recovering from the global pandemic that has affected the world’s economies.
According to him on Monday, November 22, 2021 the Bank of Ghana in its update on composite economic activity indicates that the annual growth rate in September this year was 11.2 percent compared to the 10.8 percent in 2020 whiles in 2019 it was 4.2 percent.
An indication of sustainable recovery from the global pandemic and a clear indication that measures being taken by the President Nana Akufo-Addo’s administration is leading to recovery of the national economy.
“I call on the House to support this budget, the youth as well; it is a budget that would pull the country out of its economic difficulty, there has been a lot of debate in this House aimed at scoring political point”, he said.
To back his point, he said in 2014 GDP growth was 2.9 percent, 2015 – 2.1 percent and in 2016 – 3.4 percent which is the best of the previous John Mahama led administration. “Mr. Speaker, today in spite of all the difficulties our national economy has undergone, in spite of the disruption in the global supply chain, the fact that even developed economies are struggling today in 2021 GDP growth as at today still stands at 3.5 percent”.
He added that in 2014 to 2016 there was no pandemic, the then government of John Mahama scored 3.4 percent GDP growth in 2016 and his colleagues in the NDC have not contested the figures, “it is uncontestable, without the pandemic they took us into unemployment situation, we had a nation graduate unemployment association without pandemic; our friends from the other side moved us into dumsor.”
In addition, he pointed out to the House that he is not an economist and financial expert on deficit, but the Bank of Ghana has given Ghanaians figures to appreciate, stating that “with all the expenditure Akufo-Addo and his government embarked on, free electricity, water, food, SHS, allowance for frontline health workers; in spite of all of them the deficit stood at 11.7 percent of GDP, that is a fact that of NDC’s 2012 – 12.2 percent of GDP 2013 – 11.7 of GDP 2014 -11.9 GDP 2015 and 2016, and it is captured in their own budget and I do not know why they are worried about it. Before COVID-19 hit the first quarter of 2020, the GDP growth of our country was 7 percent”.
The Akufo-Addo government is telling the youth of this country, to just start with “whatever ideas you have, if you build an IT business, agriculture and government is going to give the youth of this country a poll of resources so you can build your own enterprise; this is a budget that would respond to unemployment in our country”, he stated.
Furthermore one point two million Ghanaians in school today and TVT is going to be free and with Free SHS government is going to absorb whatever cost there is and is in appendix 4A of page 246 of the budget statement.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com