Parliament approve 200.5 billion cedis for Foreign Ministry

Parliament on Wednesday began approving budgetary estimates for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for this year with a cry that what was approved for them fell below their request. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had 200.5 billion cedis approved for it out of 526 billion cedis it was requesting for.

Alhaji Mustapha Idris, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs moving for the approval said the amount was inadequate to meet the economic diplomacy the country has to play to promote the golden age of business.

Supporting this view, Victor Gbeho, Independent-Anlo said the ministry had always been under-resourced, which made it difficult for it to meet international obligations such as the payment of OAU and UN dues.

He expressed regret that Ghana was in two years in arrears of OAU dues and that the nation would face an embarrassment in the forthcoming ministerial meeting of the organisation.

Mr Kofi Attor, NDC-Central echoed the same views and said because of insufficiency of the ministry's budget allocation, Ghana was one of the only country that was still maintaining her diplomatic mission in Bonn whereas all other countries have moved their mission to Berlin.

With the intension of Ghana to open five more missions, the allocation was insufficient to meet that demand and asked the Ministry of Finance to provide separate funds for that venture.

He said it was necessary to pay attention to improving the structural conditions at the Burkina Faso Embassy and to ensure that the building of Legon Institute of International Affairs (LECIA) was completed on scheduled. Mr. Attor said the government should also be fully prepared to host the forthcoming All Africans Student Union (AASU) meeting this year.

A chunk of 604.1 billion cedis was approved for the Ministry of Roads and Transport to meet the government's commitment to expand and upgrade infrastructural facilities for increased economic activity and wealth creation.

Dr Richard Anane, Minister of Roads and Transport said the country was expecting about 498 billion cedis in donor support whilst the country itself would support the budget with about 106 billion cedis.

The House also approved 23.3 billion cedis for the Ministry of Youth and Sports with the plea that actual releases to the ministry should be prompt. The Committee on Youth and Sports regretted that last year there was a shortfall of about 3.7 billion cedis, which negatively affected its expenditure on administrative and investment expenses.

Mr Edward Osei Kwaku, the sector Minister, moving for the approval of the estimates said sporting facilities needed a lot of resources to put Ghana on the sporting map of the world. He said the lesser known sporting activities needed to be improved and that would be done with sufficient resources.