2019 'Made-in-China' budget 'hopeless' – Minority

The Minority in Parliament has described the 2019 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Akufo-Addo government as one that lacks hope.

Shortly after Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta presented the budget to parliament on Thursday, 15 November 2018, the Minority Caucus displayed placards in the chamber to ridicule it.

Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: “Ahoky3r3 Budget”, “Hopeless Budget”, ”Borrow Borrow Budget” and “Made-in-China Budget”.

Meanwhile, the government has promised massive infrastructural projects including road construction works across the country in 2019.

According to Mr Ofori-Atta, infrastructure forms the backbone of economic development and growth, as well as a source of jobs and wealth for many people.

He told parliament: “Mr Speaker, infrastructure, both hard and soft, is the backbone of economic development and growth, as well as a source of jobs and wealth for a majority of people. In a rapidly changing global marketplace, traditional infrastructure like electricity and power, transport and logistics, water and sanitation, roads, highways, and railways have combined with new, mostly soft infrastructure like digitisation of government services, to enable emerging economies like ours to leapfrog the development path to prosperity.

“Mr Speaker, this government is committed to embarking on an integrated infrastructural development programme across the country that will move goods, food items and people from one location to another that will create jobs and prosperity and ensure value-for-money for Ghana as well as position Ghana as the transportation, energy and logistics hub in the region.



“To ensure efficient management of infrastructure, we will soon submit a bill to set up the Ghana Asset Management Corporation. Mr Speaker, with your permission, I will like to inform Ghanaians about what we have done so far on infrastructure and the massive investments commencing in 2019.

“In 2019, we will invest massively in the development of road and infrastructure, from a variety of funding sources and the following projects have been identified to commence in 2019.”