The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has defended the 2017 budget saying it has given Ghanaians, a new sense of hope. According to him, the components of the budget indicates the government’s commitment to realizing all the promises it made to Ghanaians during the 2016 election campaign period.
Dr. Bawumia made the comments when he attended a Muslim intercessory prayer at the Central Mosque in Accra, as part of events to mark the country’s 60th anniversary. The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, during the presentation of the 2017 budget statement and economic policy, announced that the government has earmarked various amounts for the implementation of flagship programmes such as one-district one-factory, and one-village one-dam.
It had also allocated some amount as seed money for the Zongo development fund, and the free Senior High School policy. The Minister also announced that the government had abolished a number taxes including those on the importation of spare parts and the 1% special import levy.
But Seth Tekper, a former minister for finance under the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC), expressed dissatisfaction with the budget statement, raising a number of questions including government’s decision to scrap levies on ‘kayayei’ only, when other people in that bracket also pay the same levies.
He also raised concerns that the scrapping of taxes on the importation of spare parts will result in dumping of inferior goods in the country. But in a rebuttal, the Vice President, Dr. Bawumia, said all the plans announced in the budget will help make the lives of Ghanaians better. He also assured that, the government intends to implement more policies that will promote the country’s development. “This is just the beginning.
There is more to come from the president, Nana Akufo Addo, and so we are asking for your prayers for the President and Ghana.” “The President wants us all to live harmoniously and work hard to achieve the dreams that he has for this country.”
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