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2019 Year Of Hope ― Akufo-Addo Assures

The 2019 budget scheduled to be read on November 15, 2018 promises to be one that would reflect hope for the Ghanaian people, President Nana Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured.

He indicates that government in the coming year, will rollout policies and programmes that would sustain the good progress that has been made so far, despite inheriting an ailing economy in 2017.

The President is very much convinced that his government has made frantic steps in restoring Ghana’s economy―as financial indicators have shown.

Nana Addo made these remarks at the induction of six new ministers into office, last Friday.

“The 2019 budget would reflect the hope Ghanaians have in the government and the future of the country,” he said.

The President continued: “Thus, there was no reason for the people of Ghana to be poor because God has endowed Ghanaians with everything, and if we put it together properly, we should be a wealthy and developed nation that is the vision that is animating me.”

The Budget and Expectations

Exactly 10 days from today, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori- Atta is expected to stand before Parliament to present the financial plan that would define either the success or failure of Ghana’s economy, in the coming year.

Meanwhile, some financial expects have projected that the 2019 budget will tackle government’s industrialization drive and infrastructure projects, government’s plan of raising the US$50 billion century bond among other things.

Others however, expect the 2019 budget to focus on job creation.

“I want to see that overall, the budget is designed to create jobs. We are looking at a budget that will grow agriculture and manufacturing to create jobs,” Executive Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), Professor Newman Kwadwo has noted.

Suggestions like that of Prof. Kusi comes at a time when thousands of Ghanaians have lost their source of livelihood―especially after the collapse of seven local banks in two years.

But other experts do not anticipate an investment in job creation since government, in an effort to tackle the country’s teething unemployment challenge, has already introduced the Nations Builders Corp (NaBCo) among other measures, to temporarily address the situation.

In another vein, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a recent counsel as asked government to address persistent revenue shortfalls and start tackling―once and for all, issues of taxation―as well as more effort to improve internal revenue mobilisation.

This advice from IMF follows governments decision to exit the IMF Bailout Programme by April, 2019.

By: Grace Ablewor Sogbey/ [email protected]

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