Tabl

eofCont
ent
s
SECTI
ONONE:I
NTRODUCTI
ON 2
MACROECONOMI
CTARGETSFOR2017ANDTHEMEDI
UM TERM 23
SECTORALPERFORMANCEANDOUTLOOK 34
SECTI
ONSI
X:POLI
CYI
NITI
ATI
VES 51
IMPROVINGTHEBUSI NESSENVI
RONMENT 51
EXPENDITUREMANAGEMENTANDCOMMI TMENTCONTROL 65
IMPROVINGDEBTMANAGEMENT 75
INFRASTRUCTUREFORPOVERTYERADICATI
ONPROGRAMME 77
FREEPUBLICSENIORHIGHSCHOOL 79
OTHERI NI
TIATI
VES 80
MILLENNIUM CHALLENGECORPORATI
ON 84
EDUCATIONFUND 84
INTEGRATEDALLUMI NI
UM I
NDUSTRY 85
FIGHTI
NGCORRUPTI ON 86
JOBCREATI ON 87
SECTI
ONSEVEN:CONCLUSI
ON 89

SECTI
ONONE:I
NTRODUCTI
ON
1. Rt
.Hon.Speaker
,Honour
abl
eMember
sofPar
li
ament
,on
t
heaut
hor
it
yofPr
esi
dentNanaAddoDankwaAkuf
o-Addo,Ibeg

1
t
omov
ethatt
hisHonour
abl
eHouseappr
ovest
heFi
nanci
alPol
i
cy
oft
heGov
ernmentofGhanaf
ort
hey
earendi
ng31stDecember
2017.

2. Ont
heaut
hor
it
yoft
hePr
esi
dent
,andi
naccor
dancewi
th
Ar
ti
cl
e179oft
he1992Const
it
uti
on,per
mitmet
opr
esentt
othi
s
augustHouse,
themai
denBudgetoft
hePr
esi
dentoft
heRepubl
i
c
ofGhana.

3. Thi
s pr
esent
ati
on i
s an abr
idged v
ersi
on oft
he 2017
BudgetSt
atementand Iwoul
dli
ke t
orequestt
he Hansar
d
Depar
tment t
o capt
ure t
he ent
ir
e Budget St
atement and
Economi
cpol
i
cy

4. Ial
so submi
tbef
oret
his augustHouse t
he f
oll
owi
ng
r
epor
ts:
The 2016 AnnualRepor
ton t
he Pet
rol
eum Funds,i
n
accor
dance wi
th Sect
i he Pet
on 48 of t rol
eum Revenue
ManagementAct
,2011(
Act815)
,asamended;
The2016AnnualDebtRepor
t,i
naccor
dancewi
thSect
ion
hePubl
72oft i
cFi
nanci
alManagementAct
,2016(
Act921)
;
and
The2016Ener
gySect
orLev
iesRepor
t,i
naccor
dancewi
th
Sect
i heEner
on6oft gySect
orLevi
esAct
,2015(
Act899)
.

2
5. Mr
.Speaker
,letme f
ir
stt
hanky
ou and t
he house f
or
appr
ovi
ng my nomi
nat
ion as Fi
nance Mi
nist
er.My pr
ofound
gr
ati
tudet
obot
hsi
desoft
hei
sle.Thanksf
ort
hedr
yrunof3
hour
s45mi
nut
es;Ipr
ayt
hatIwi
l
lbel
etof
fsoonert
hist
ime.Mr
Speaker
,Ial
sost
andher
ehumbl
edbyt
hePr
esi
dent
scour
age
andconf
idencet
oel
evat
emet
othi
sver
ywei
ght
yandhi
ghof
fi
ce
ofFi
nanceMi
nist
eroft
heRepubl
i
cofGhana,anat
ionwi
tha
mani
fest dest
iny f
or gr
eat
ness, a nat
ion wi
th v
ery hi
gh
expect
ati
onsf
orPr
esi
dentAkuf
o-Addo
sgov
ernment
,anat
ion
t
hati
s60y
ear
sol
d,r
emai
nsadi
amondi
nther
oughandt
her
efor
e
needsmor
ethanashi
ne.
6. Mr
.Speaker
,iti
satt
hispr
ovi
dent
ialpoi
nti
nourhi
stor
ythat
Ihav
e been gi
ven t
his gr
ave butexci
ti
ng r
esponsi
bil
i
tyt
o
par
ti
cipat
einsendi
ngGhanabey
ondai
dandt
oreal
i
seourbi
rt
h
r
ightast
heBl
ackSt
arofAf
ri
ca.I
,Mr
.Speaker
,acceptt
hisr
ole
wi
thal
lthesol
emni
tyandr
ever
encet
hati
tdeser
ves.

7. Mr
.Speaker
,Iwoul
dli
ket
oassur
ethi
shouseasIal
sodi
d
wi
tht
heFi
nanceCommi
tt
eet
hatIwi
l
lwor
kwi
thmember
swi
th
ut
mostcandourand r
espect
.You ar
efi
rstand f
oremostt
he
l
egi
slat
ive,t
her
epr
esent
ati
vesofourpeopl
eandIhav
ebeen
pr
ivi
l
egedt
owi
tnesst
hesacr
if
icesy
ouhav
egonet
hrought
obe
her
e.Ay
ekoo.Secondl
y,Mr
.Speaker
,Iam st
andi
ngi
nther
ather
l
argesi
zeshoesofal
egacyoff
ami
l
ymember
ssuchasDr
.JB
3
Danquah,Mr
.Wi
l
li
am Of
ori
-At
ta,Honour
abl
eAmoako-
Att
a,Dr
.
JonesOf
ori
-At
ta(
myf
ather
),Pr
esi
dentNanaAddoDankwaAkuf
o
-
AddoandHonour
abl
eAt
taAky
ea. Ihav
e,Mr
.Speaker
,been
br
oughtupt
orespectt
hishouseandIwi
l
lal
sol
i
ket
ohonourmy
f
orbear
s.Fi
nal
l
yMr
.Speaker
,letmef
reel
yadmi
t,t
hatt
hisbat
tl
e
ahead i
sindeed t
heLor
dsand Ihumbl
yconf
essbef
oret
his
augusthouseandt
henat
ion,ofmyi
nabi
l
ityt
oaccompl
i
sht
his
enor
moust
askwi
thoutt
hehel
pandt
hel
eadi
ngoft
heAl
might
y;
t
hrough Jesus Chr
istwe can r
esol
vet
hese chal
l
enges and
est
abl
i
shar
ight
eousandj
ustSoci
etyf
oral
l
.

8. Mr
.Speaker
,ni
ne(
9)day
sago,
thePr
esi
dentpr
esent
edt
he
St
ateoft
heNat
ionAddr
esst
othi
saugustHouse.Hi
saddr
ess,
in
addi
ti
ont
opr
esent
ingt
hest
ateoft
heeconomy
,al
sobr
oadl
y
out
li
ned t
hev
isi
on and pol
i
cydi
rect
ion ofhi
sGov
ernment
.A
v
isi
on ofhope,ofj
obsand weal
th cr
eat
ion,and ofar
obust
economyt
hatsuppor
tsat
hri
vi
ngpr
ivat
esect
or.Wi
tht
hisBudget
,
Ipr
esentt
oyou t
he pol
i
cies,st
rat
egi
es and act
ions we wi
l
l
under
taket
odel
i
vert
hePr
esi
dent
sv
isi
on.

9. Mr
.Speaker
,letusacknowl
edget
hatwehav
einher
it
eda
chal
l
engedeconomyi
nwhi
chwear
eal
lst
akehol
der
sin:
consi
der
abl
edebtov
erhangandr
isi
ngi
nter
estpay
ment
s
causedbyexcessi
vebor
rowi
ng;
expendi
tur
eov
err
unsandaccumul
atedar
rear
scausedby
4
 excessi
ve sol
e sour
cing, l
ax f
iscal pol
i
cies and weak
commi
tmentcont
rol
s,
r
evenueunder
per
for
mancecausedbyl
eakages,l
oophol
es
andt
axexempt
ions;
sl
owdown i
n economi
c gr
owt
h caused by ener
gy
chal
l
enges and a l
ack ofan enabl
i
ng env
ironmentf
ort
he
pr
ivat
esect
or;
l
i
mit
edcapi
tali
nvest
ment
,amongot
her
s,duet
ori
gidi
ti
es
f
rom ear
mar
king ofr
evenues t
hatsev
erel
yli
mitt
he f
iscal
spaceandunder
minest
hepr
ior
it
isat
ionofgov
ernmentpol
i
cies;
and.
ur
gentneedt
ocol
l
abor
atewi
thourwor
kfor
ceandbui
l
da
shar
ed par
tner
shi
p t
o enhance t
rai
ning and i
mpr
ove
pr
oduct
ivi
ty

10. Thecount
ry
sdebtst
ockhasr
eachedal
evelofabout73
per
centofGDPatend-
December2016,whi
chi
sinexcessoft
he
debtsust
ainabi
l
ityt
hreshol
dof70per
cent
.Thi
shasr
esul
tedi
n
hi
ghdebtser
vicecost
swi
thi
nter
estpay
ment
sal
onet
aki
ngup
near
ly 42 per
cent of t
ax r
evenue. Thi
s, t
oget
her wi
th
Compensat
ionofEmpl
oyeesandSt
atut
oryPay
ment
s,i
smor
e
t
hant
otaldomest
icr
evenue,l
eav
ingnof
iscalspacef
orgr
owt
h
enhanci
ngpol
i
cies/
progr
ammes/
expendi
tur
es.

5
11. Tot
alexpendi
tur
esatend-
December2016st
oodat30.
3
per
centofGDPagai
nstat
argetof26.
4per
centofGDP,wi
than
out
standi
ngst
ockofar
rear
sofnear
lyGH7bi
l
li
on.Thi
sisat
v
ari
ancewi
tht
hePer
for
manceCr
it
eri
aont
henon-
accumul
ati
on
ofar
rear
sfort
he 2016 f
iscaly
earundert
he I
MF-
suppor
ted
Ext
endedCr
edi
tFaci
l
ity(
ECF)Pr
ogr
amme.

12. Mr
.Speaker
,thel
argef
iscalsl
i
ppagesr
esul
tedi
naf
iscal
def
ici
tof8.
7per
centofGDPoncashbasi
sand10.
3per
centon
commi
tmentbasi
s.Thi
sis a shar
p dev
iat
ion f
rom t
he I
MF
pr
ogr
am f
iscalt
argetof5.
3per
centofGDP.Wei
ntendt
orev
erse
t
hist
rendandr
est
oref
iscal
disci
pli
ne.

13. Mr
.Speaker
,ther
ateofeconomi
cgr
owt
hhassl
oweddown
i
nrecentt
imes,wi
th2016gr
owt
hest
imat
edat3.
6per
cent
,the
l
owesti
nov
ert
wodecades.Ofpar
ti
cul
arconcer
nist
heer
rat
ic
per
for
manceoft
heAgr
icul
tur
eSect
orandt
hecont
inui
ngener
gy
chal
l
engeswhi
chhav
enegat
ivel
yaf
fect
edt
hei
ndust
ri
alsect
or.
The ef
fectoft
hisi
s a st
ruggl
i
ng pr
ivat
e sect
orand r
isi
ng
unempl
oyment
.

14. Mr
.Speaker
,whi
l
einf
lat
ionandi
nter
estr
ateshav
erecent
ly
been on t
he decl
i
ne,we st
il
lhav
etof
ixt
he under
lyi
ng
macr
oeconomi
cfundament
alst
o ensur
ethat t
hist
rend i
s
sust
ainabl
e.
6
15. Mr
.Speaker
,the economi
c chal
l
enges we f
ace r
equi
re
del
i
ber
atebutur
gent
,wel
lthoughtoutst
rat
egi
cst
epsandt
he
backi
ngandt
otalsuppor
toft
heGhanai
anpeopl
e.Iam conf
ident
t
hatwehav
ethehumanr
esour
ce,especi
all
yint
hisHouseandi
n
ourDi
aspor
aCommuni
ty,t
heexper
ience,andmosti
mpor
tant
ly
t
her
esoundi
ngmandat
eoft
hepeopl
etogui
deandi
nspi
reus.

16. Thi
sbudgetpr
esent
sacl
earr
oadmaponhowwewi
l
lmov
e
t
hiseconomyf
rom i
tscur
rentst
atei
ntoaf
ull
-f
ledgedmi
ddl
e
i
ncomeeconomyaGhanabey
ondAi
d.

17. Mr
.Speaker
,ourgoali
stobui
l
dthemostbusi
ness-
fr
iendl
y
andpeopl
e-cent
redeconomyi
nAf
ri
ca,whi
chwi
l
ltr
ansl
atei
nto
j
obcr
eat
ionandpr
osper
it
yforal
lGhanai
ans.Wewi
l
lst
ri
ket
he
r
ightbal
ancebet
weenf
iscalconsol
i
dat
ionandgr
owt
h,bymaki
ng
cr
edi
ble pol
i
cy choi
ces t
hatwi
l
lcr
eat
ethe f
iscalspace t
o
i
mpl
ementgr
owt
henhanci
ngi
nit
iat
ives.Mr
.Speaker
,wei
ntendt
o
bui
l
dapar
tner
shi
pwi
thl
abourt
hatwi
l
lresul
tinasoci
alcont
ract
t
omar
kaner
aofpeacei
nwhi
chwewi
l
lmut
ual
l
yenhancet
he
pr
oduct
ivi
tyofourl
abourf
orce.

18. Thi
scommi
tmenthowev
er,
ishamper
edbyf
iveconst
rai
nts
whi
chweneedt
oov
ercome:
l
owr
evenuecol
l
ect
ion;
7
 expendi
tur
eov
err
unsandcor
rupt
ion;
hi
ghwagebi
l
l;
r
igi
dit
yoff
iscalst
ruct
urecausedbyheav
year
mar
kingof
t
axr
evenue;
and
hi
ghdebtser
vicepay
ment
s.

19. Thi
sbudgetpr
esent
sapr
oposalt
oaddr
esst
hesei
ssues
per
manent
lyandIhopeIcansecur
ethesuppor
toft
hisaugust
Housei
nthatr
egar
d.

20. Rev
enue admi
nist
rat
ion r
emai
ns a chal
l
enge.To boost
r
evenuest
reams,wewi
l
lst
rengt
hent
axadmi
nist
rat
ion,r
educe
t
axexempt
ions,
plugr
evenuel
oophol
esandl
eakagesandcombat
t
axev
asi
onespeci
all
yatourpor
ts.Wewi
l
lbr
oadent
het
axbase
whi
l
str
educi
ng and abol
i
shi
ng some t
axes and l
evi
es.The
Nat
ional I
dent
if
icat
ion Scheme, a pr
ior
it
y pr
oject of t
his
admi
nist
rat
ion,
whi
chwei
ntendt
ore-
launcht
hisy
ear
,wi
l
lsuppor
t
ouref
for
tst
oropei
ntheeconomi
cal
l
yact
ivebutundocument
ed
ci
ti
zens and t
he i
nfor
malsect
or of t
he economy t
her
eby
br
oadeni
ngt
het
axbaseandaccel
erat
ingf
inanci
ali
ncl
usi
on.

21. Mr
.Speaker
,wewi
l
ladher
etoandmai
ntai
ngoodeconomi
c
gov
ernance pr
inci
ples off
iscaldi
sci
pli
ne,account
abi
l
ity and
t
ranspar
ency
.Tor
eit
erat
ewhatt
hePr
esi
dentsai
d,wewi
l
lpr
otect

8
t
hepubl
i
cpur
sebyguar
ant
eei
ngv
aluef
ormoneyi
nal
lpubl
i
c
t
ransact
ions,andexer
cisi
ngpr
udenceanddi
sci
pli
nei
nourf
iscal
managementt
odel
i
veront
heaspi
rat
ionsoft
heGhanai
anpeopl
e.
I
nef
fi
cienci
es and wast
ein gov
ernmentspendi
ng wi
l
lnotbe
t
oler
atedandt
her
ewi
l
lbest
ri
ctenf
orcementofal
lrel
evantl
aws
andr
egul
ati
ons,especi
all
ythenewPubl
i
cFi
nanci
alManagement
Act
,2016(
Act921)
.

22. Gov
ernmentwi
l
lpur
sue an ef
fect
ive debtmanagement
st
rat
egyt
oensur
edebtsust
ainabi
l
ity
.Wewi
l
lal
soadoptgl
obal
st
andar
ds of r
isk and t
reasur
y management t
o ensur
e
account
abi
l
ityi
ntheuseofst
ater
esour
ces.I
naddi
ti
on,wewi
l
l
wor
ktor
educet
heamountofgov
ernmentbor
rowi
ngandt
he
r
esul
ti
ngcr
owdi
ngoutoft
hepr
ivat
esect
or.Mr
.Speaker
,asan
exampl
e,I
nthe2016budgetst
atement
,theent
ir
eal
l
ocat
ionf
or
t
heMi
nist
ri
esofRoadsandHi
ghway
s,Tr
adeandI
ndust
ry,Food
andAgr
icul
tur
e,Wat
erResour
ces,
Wor
ksandHousi
ng,
Yout
hand
Spor
tsandMi
nist
ryofTr
anspor
tamount
edt
oat
otalofGHC2.
2
bi
l
li
on.I
nter
estpay
ment
sin 2016 (
GHC10.
8 bi
l
li
on)woul
d be
near
ly5 t
imes whatwas al
l
ocat
ed t
othe si
xkeymi
nist
ri
es
combi
ned.Thi
sishowper
nici
ousourdebtst
rangl
ehol
dis.

23. Mr
.Speaker
,theBudgetwi
l
lsett
hepacef
orj
obcr
eat
ion
andaccel
erat
edgr
owt
hbyempower
ingt
hepr
ivat
esect
or.To
accompl
i
sh t
his,we wi
l
l shi
ftt
he f
ocus of economi
c
9
managementf
rom t
axat
iont
opr
oduct
ion.Thi
swi
l
lreducet
he
costofdoi
ngbusi
nessandcr
eat
eaconduci
vecl
i
mat
efor
i
nvest
mentandj
obcr
eat
ion.I
nthi
sregar
d,anumberoft
axes
t
hat i
mpede gr
owt
h wi
l
lbe r
evi
ewed,and i
f necessar
y,
abol
i
shed.Gov
ernmentwi
l
lrev
erset
her
ecentl
owgr
owt
htr
end
byboost
ingagr
icul
tur
eandi
ndust
ri
alpr
oduct
ivi
ty.

24. Mr
.Speaker
,the 2017 Budgetwi
l
lseti
n mot
ion t
he
f
oll
owi
ngkeypol
i
cypr
ior
it
iesandf
lagshi
ppr
oject
s:
est
abl
i
shmentoft
heI
nfr
ast
ruct
uref
orPov
ert
yEr
adi
cat
ion
Pr
oject(
IPEP)
.Undert
hispr
oject
,ev
eryconst
it
uencywi
l
lbe
al
l
ocat
edt
hecediequi
val
entofUS$1mi
l
li
ont
ocombatpov
ert
y
and i
mpr
ove t
he l
i
ves of r
ural dwel
l
ers and depr
ived
communi
ti
es;
i
mpl
ement
ati
on of t
he
One Di
str
ict One Fact
ory

pr
ogr
amme;
est
abl
i
shmentoft
heZongoDev
elopmentFundt
osuppor
t
t
hepr
ovi
sionofcr
it
ical
inf
rast
ruct
ureandser
vices;
r
oll
-outoft
heNat
ionalI
dent
if
icat
ionSchemet
ofaci
l
itat
e
t
heef
fi
ci
entdel
i
ver
yofpubl
i
candpr
ivat
eser
vicesandhel
p
f
ormal
i
set
heeconomy
;
r
oll
-outf
reeSHSt
oensur
eequaloppor
tuni
ti
esf
oral
land
enhancementofhumancapi
tal
fort
hecount
ry;
r
oll
-outofanat
ionaldi
git
aladdr
essi
ngsy
stem t
opr
ovi
de

10
 uni
queaddr
essesf
oral
lpr
oper
ti
esi
nGhana;
and
r
est
orat
ionoft
eacher
sandnur
sest
rai
ningal
l
owances.

25. Mr
.Speaker
,despi
tesi
gni
fi
cant
lymi
ssi
ngt
he2016t
heset
t
arget
s,Iwantt
o assur
emyf
ell
ow Ghanai
ans,i
nvest
orsand
ext
ernalst
akehol
der
sthatwear
ecommi
tt
edt
ocont
inuewi
tht
he
Ext
endedCr
edi
tFaci
l
ity(
ECF)Pr
ogr
ammewi
tht
heI
MF.Wewi
l
l,
howev
er,r
evi
ew some oft
he t
arget
s and st
ruct
uralr
efor
m
benchmar
kst
o accommodat
eourpr
ior
it
iesoft
axr
eli
efsand
ot
herposi
ti
vemeasur
est
oboostt
hepr
ivat
esect
or.

26. Mr
.Speaker
,Gov
ernmentwi
l
limpl
ementmeasur
est
hatwi
l
l
unl
eash t
he cr
eat
ive abi
l
iti
es of Ghanai
ans,and f
aci
l
itat
e
i
ncr
easedeconomi
cact
ivi
tywhi
chwi
l
lleadt
othei
mpr
ovementi
n
peopl
e
sli
ves.

27. Mr
.Speaker
,ther
ear
eex
cit
ingt
imesaheadandt
her
eis
ev
erygoodr
easont
obeopt
imi
sti
cthatourcount
ryi
sreadyt
o
wor
kagai
n.Ourgov
ernmentl
ooksf
orwar
dtoapar
tner
shi
pof
pr
ogr
esswi
thourhonour
abl
ecol
l
eaguesacr
osst
heai
sle.

28. Mr
.Speakerwemustasanat
ioncomet
oget
hert
oconf
ront
ourr
eal
i
ty.ThePr
esi
dentdi
dment
ionni
neday
sagot
hathe
wasi
nahur
ryMr
.Speaker
,wemustal
lbei
nahur
ry,
wemust
t
ri
ggeranat
ionalsenseofur
gencyt
odealwi
thourdef
ici
t.I
t
s
11
 cont
inualpr
esencecur
tai
l
sourcapaci
tyt
olev
erageourmany
oppor
tuni
ti
esandr
esour
cest
hatwehav
easanat
ion.Letme
st
ress,Mr
.Speaker
,wecannotbor
row ourwayoutoft
hese
chal
l
enges.Thi
swi
l
lbet
ant
amountt
ocr
eat
ingandshar
ing
pov
ert
y,whi
chonl
yleadst
oal
ossofourf
iscalsov
erei
gnt
y;so
l
i
ket
hePr
esi
dent
,wemustal
lbei
nahur
ryt
ogr
ow ourway
i
ntoPr
osper
it
y.Thi
sbudget
,Mr
.Speaker
,seekst
odot
his.

29. Mr
.Speaker
,mypr
esent
ati
ont
odaywi
l
lfol
l
owt
hisout
li
ne:
Iwi
l
lpr
esentashor
tbr
iefonhow t
heGl
obaleconomy
per
for
med i
n 2016,t
he medi
um-
ter
m out
look and t
he
expect
edi
mpactont
heGhanai
aneconomy
;
Thi
swi
l
lbef
oll
owedbyt
heMacr
oeconomi
cPer
for
mance
f
or2016agai
nstt
het
argetset
s;
Iwi
l
lthenpr
esentt
hePr
esi
dent
sMacr
oeconomi
cTar
get
s
f
or2017andt
heMedi
um-
Ter
m Tar
get
s;
I
n addi
ti
on,Iwi
l
lbr
ief
lyt
alk aboutsome key sect
or
del
i
ver
abl
esf
or2017;
Andt
henpr
ovi
dey
ouwi
tht
hekeypol
i
cyi
nit
iat
ivesf
or2017;
and
Iwi
l
lfi
nal
l
yconcl
udewi
thhi
ghl
i
ght
soft
hekeymessagesi
n
t
heBudget
.
GLOBALECONOMI
CPERFORMANCEANDOUTLOOK

Gl
obalOut
put
12
 30. Mr
.Speaker
,thegl
obaleconomyi
sexpect
edt
owi
tness
somei
mpr
ovementi
ngr
owt
hin2017andt
hemedi
um t
erm
af
teral
ackl
ust
erper
for
mancei
n2016. TheJanuar
y2017
Updat
eoft
heI
MF
sWor
ldEconomi
cOut
look(
WEO)pr
oject
sa
gl
obalgr
owt
h of3.
1 per
centi
n 2016.Thi
sisexpect
ed t
o
i
mpr
ovemar
ginal
l
yto3.
4per
centi
n2017andf
urt
hert
o3.
6in
2018.

31. Foremer
gingmar
ket
sanddev
elopi
ngeconomi
esgr
owt
h
i
sex
pect
edt
oremai
nunchangedat4.
1per
centi
n2016,
andi
s
pr
oject
edt
orecov
ert
o4.
5per
centi
n2017andf
urt
hert
o4.
8
per
centaccor
dingt
otheWEO.

32. Thedownsi
der
iskst
othegl
obal
out
look,
accor
dingt
oWEO,
i
ncl
ude,i
ncr
easedr
est
ri
cti
onsongl
obalt
radeandmi
grat
ion
and i
ts negat
ivei
mpacton pr
oduct
ivi
ty.I
n addi
ti
on,hi
gh
cor
por
atedebt
,decl
i
ningpr
ofi
tabi
l
ity
,weakbankbal
ances,and
t
hinpol
i
cybuf
fer
sinemer
gingmar
keteconomi
esmayl
eadt
o
capi
tal
flowr
ever
sal
sanddepr
eci
ati
onoft
hel
ocal
cur
rency
.

Commodi
tyPr
ices

33. Mr
.Speaker
,oi
lpr
iceshav
epi
ckedupi
nrecentweeks
r
esul
ti
ngmai
nlyf
rom anagr
eementamongmaj
orpr
oduci
ng
count
ri
est
oreducesuppl
y.Cr
udeoi
lpr
icesar
eexpect
edt
o
13
 av
erage$55perbar
reli
n2017,
about28per
centi
ncr
easeov
er
t
he2016l
evel
s.

34. Gol
dpr
icesar
eexpect
edt
odecl
i
nef
rom anav
erageof
US$1,
249perf
ineouncei
n2016t
oUS$1,
219i
n2017due
l
argel
yto an expect
ed st
rengt
heni
ng of t
he US dol
l
ar.
Accor
dingt
otheCommodi
tyMar
ket
sOut
lookbyt
heWor
ld
Bank,Cocoapr
icei
spr
oject
edt
oav
erageaboutUS$2,
940per
t
onnei
n2017upf
rom US$2,
850i
n2016.

I
mpl
ement
ati
onofECOWASCommonExt
ernalTar
if
f(CET)

35. Mr
.Speaker
,Ghanaj
oinedni
neot
hermemberst
atet
o
i
mpl
ement t
he ECOWAS Common Ext
ernal Tar
if
f(CET)
ef
fect
ive1stFebr
uar
y,2016.TheECOWASCETi
sconsi
der
eda
maj
orpl
atf
ormf
ort
heest
abl
i
shmentofCust
omsUni
ont
hat
wi
l
lfaci
l
itat
efr
ee t
rade and adv
ance gr
eat
er economi
c
i
ntegr
ati
onwi
thi
nther
egi
on.Thet
ari
ffi
sexpect
edt
o hel
p
addr
ess pr
obl
ems such as cr
oss-
bor
der smuggl
i
ng and
dumpi
ngi
nthesub-
regi
on.Gov
ernmenti
scur
rent
lymoni
tor
ing
andev
aluat
ingt
hei
mpactoft
henewr
egi
meonv
ari
oussect
ors
oft
heeconomy
.

14
I
mpl
icat
ionsofGl
obalDev
elopment
sforGhana
sEconomy

36. Mr
.Speaker
,we addr
ess t
he r
isk ofcommodi
typr
ice
v
olat
il
it
y,Gov
ernment wi
l
lwor
ktowar
ds di
ver
sif
ying t
he
economy
.Wewi
l
ladd si
gni
fi
cantv
aluet
o ourexpor
tsand
suppor
tlocalmanuf
act
uri
ngofi
mpor
tedgoods,whi
chcanbe
pr
oducedl
ocal
l
yinpar
tner
shi
pwi
tht
hepr
ivat
esect
or.

MACROECONOMI
CPERFORMANCEFOR2016

Gr
owt
h

37. Mr
.Speaker
,gr
owt
hhasr
emai
nedsubduedov
ert
heper
iod.
The2016GDP,basedont
hepr
ovi
sionalout
tur
nfort
hef
ir
st
t
hreequar
ter
soft
hey
ear
,isest
imat
edat3.
6per
cent
,wi
tht
he
non-
oilr
ealGDPest
imat
edat4.
6per
cent
,sameast
arget
.At
t
hesect
orall
evel
,theI
ndust
rySect
or,speci
fi
cal
l
y,mi
ningand
quar
ryi
ngunder
per
for
medduet
oacont
ract
ioni
nupst
ream
pet
rol
eum out
put
,whi
chconst
it
utest
hebul
koft
heMi
ningand
Quar
ryi
ng Subsect
or.Al
lthe subsect
orsi
nthe Agr
icul
tur
e
Sect
or,howev
er,r
ecor
dedposi
ti
vegr
owt
hrat
es.TheSer
vices
Sect
orcont
inuest
odomi
nat
ethesect
orswi
thashar
eof54.
3
per
centi
n2016.
I
nfl
ati
on

38. Mr
.Speaker
,inf
lat
ion,whi
chr
emai
nedel
evat
edf
ormost
15
 par
tof2016,begant
osl
ow-
downt
owar
dst
heendoft
hey
ear
.
I
nfl
ati
onbegant
hey
earat19.
0per
cent
,peakedat19.
2per
cent
i
nMar
chandendedt
hey
earat15.
4per
cent
.

Monet
aryandCr
edi
tDev
elopment
s

39. Mr
.Speaker
,thekeymonet
aryaggr
egat
esandcr
edi
ttot
he
pr
ivat
esect
orr
ecor
dedsl
owergr
owt
hin2016,i
nli
newi
tht
he
t
ightmonet
arypol
i
cyst
ance.Thebr
oadmoneysuppl
y(M2+)
,
att
heendofDecember2016,r
ecor
dedanannualgr
owt
hof
22.
0per
centcompar
edwi
th26.
1per
centi
nthesameper
iodof
2015.Thi
swasmai
nlydr
ivenbyamoder
ategr
owt
hof19.
5
per
centi
n NetDomest
ic Asset
s(NDA)and a NetFor
eign
Asset
s(NFA)gr
owt
hof29.
8per
centi
nDecember2016.

40. Gr
owt
hint
otalout
standi
ngcr
edi
ttot
hepubl
i
candpr
ivat
e
i
nst
it
uti
onsmoder
atedf
urt
heri
nDecember2016,ar
efl
ect
ion
ofahi
gheri
nci
denceofnon-
per
for
mingl
oansandt
het
ight
monet
arypol
i
cyst
ance.The annualgr
owt
hint
otalcr
edi
t
sl
owedt
o17.
6per
centatt
heendofDecember2016f
rom 24.
9
per
centr
ecor
dedi
n2015.

St
ockMar
ketDev
elopment
s

41. Mr
.Speaker
,annualchangesi
ntheGhanaSt
ockExchange

16
Composi
te I
ndex (
GSE-
CI)r
emai
ned negat
ive, gener
all
y
r
efl
ect
ingi
nvest
orpr
efer
encef
orhi
ghery
iel
dingmoneymar
ket
i
nst
rument
s.The GSE Composi
teI
ndex (
GSE-
CI)l
ost15.
3
per
cent(
305.
82 poi
nts)y
ear
-on-
yeari
n December2016 t
o
cl
oseat1,
689.
09poi
ntsf
rom 1,
994.
91poi
ntsi
nDecember
2015.Tot
almar
ketcapi
tal
i
zat
ion st
ood atGH52,
690.
99
mi
l
li
onatt
heendofDecember2016,showi
ngay
ear
-on-
year
decl
i
neof7.
8per
cent
.

17
I
nter
estRat
e
42. Mr
.Speaker
,int
erest r
ates i
n 2016 exhi
bit
ed mi
xed
per
for
mance.TheBankofGhanaPol
i
cyRat
ewaskeptat26
per
centunt
ilOct
ober2016asr
iskst
oinf
lat
ionandgr
owt
h
wer
eassessed asbal
anced.Thepol
i
cyr
ate,howev
er,was
r
educedt
o25.
5per
cent
,asi
nfl
ati
onpr
essur
eseasedwhi
l
e
domest
icgr
owt
hcondi
ti
onscont
inuedt
odet
eri
orat
e.Yi
eldson
shor
t-
ter
m Gov
ernmentsecur
it
iesdecr
eased,whi
l
ethoseof
medi
um t
olong-
ter
m GOG bonds i
ncr
eased i
nli
ne wi
th
Gov
ernment
s pol
i
cy t
o pr
oper
ly al
i
gn t
he y
iel
d cur
ve and
ext
endt
hemat
uri
typr
ofi
l
e.

ExchangeRat
e

43. Mr
.Speaker
,the Ghana cedir
emai
ned r
elat
ivel
yst
abl
e
agai
nstt
he maj
orcur
renci
es i
nthe cur
rency mar
ket
,on
accountoft
ight
ermonet
ary pol
i
cy and i
mpr
oved f
orei
gn
exchangei
nfl
ows.Howev
er,t
hist
rendwasr
ever
sedi
nther
un-
upt
otheDecemberel
ect
ions,asdemandpr
essur
esmount
ed.
The Ghana cedir
ecor
ded a cumul
ati
ve depr
eci
ati
on of9.
6
per
centand5.
3per
centagai
nstt
heUSdol
l
arandt
heeur
o,
r
espect
ivel
y,butappr
eci
atedby10.
0per
centagai
nstt
hepound
st
erl
i
ngi
nthei
nter
bankmar
keti
n2016.

18
Ext
ernalSect
or

44. Mr
.Speaker
,thebal
anceofpay
ment
s(BOP)t
urnedsur
plus
f
ort
hef
ir
stt
imesi
nce2011duet
oimpr
ovedcur
rentaccount
bal
ance.Accor
dingl
y,t
her
ewasabui
l
d-up i
ngr
ossf
orei
gn
asset
s,whi
chsuppor
tedt
her
elat
ivest
abi
l
ityi
ntheexchange
r
ate.TheBOP sur
pluswasUS$247mi
l
li
on,compar
edt
oa
def
ici
tofUS$129mi
l
li
oni
n2015.Thet
radebal
ancei
mpr
oved
f
rom adef
ici
tofUS$3.
1bni
n2015t
oadef
ici
tofUS$1.
7bni
n
2016duet
oincr
easedexpor
tsr
ecei
ptsby7.
2per
centanda
decl
i
nei
nimpor
tsby5.
3per
cent
.

45. Thegr
ossf
orei
gnasset
satt
heend ofDecemberwas
est
imat
edatUS$6,
161.
80mi
l
li
on,f
rom US$5,
884.
70mi
l
li
onat
t
he end of December 2015,r
epr
esent
ing a bui
l
d-up of
US$277.
07mi
l
li
on.Thi
swassuf
fi
cientt
opr
ovi
decov
erf
or3.
5
mont
hs of i
mpor
ts of goods and ser
vices,same as i
n
December2015.

Fi
scalDev
elopment
s

46. Mr
.Speaker
,the mai
n obj
ect
ive of f
iscalpol
i
cy,as
env
isi
oned i
n t
he 2016 Budget
, was t
o consol
i
dat
e
Gov
ernment
sf
inancesbyr
educi
ngt
hef
iscaldef
ici
tfr
om 6.
3
per
centofGDPi
n2015t
o5.
0per
centofGDPi
n2016.

19
47. Pr
ovi
si
onaldat
afor2016,howev
er,i
ndi
cat
es t
hatt
he
env
isi
onedf
iscalconsol
i
dat
ionwasnotachi
eved.Asar
esul
t,
t
otaldomest
icr
evenueandgr
ant
swas11.
1per
centbel
ow
t
arget(
anact
ualofGH33.
7bi
l
li
on,agai
nstat
argetGH37.
9
bi
l
li
on)
, whi
l
e t
otal Expendi
tur
e (
incl
udi
ng out
standi
ng
expendi
tur
e cl
aims)exceeded t
he t
argetby 16.
2 per
cent
.
Thesesl
i
ppagesr
esul
tedi
naf
iscaldef
ici
toncommi
tment
basi
sof10.
3per
centofGDP.Oncashbasi
s,t
hef
iscaldef
ici
t
was8.
7per
centofGDPagai
nstat
argetof5.
0per
centofGDP.
Thepr
imar
ybal
ancef
ort
heper
iod,r
ecor
dedadef
ici
tof1.
4
per
centofGDP,agai
nstat
arget
edsur
plusof1.
2per
centof
GDP.

48. Mr
.Speaker
,theshor
tfal
lint
otalRev
enueandGr
ant
swas
br
oadl
y at
tri
but
ed t
othe i
mpactofener
gy chal
l
enges on
househol
dsandf
ir
ms,l
owert
hanant
ici
pat
edr
ecei
ptsf
rom oi
l
duet
obot
hlower
-t
han-
progr
ammedbenchmar
kcr
udeoi
lpr
ice
andpr
oduct
ion,andnon-
real
i
sat
ionofpr
oceedsf
rom bot
htax
and non-
tax cat
egor
ies.I
n addi
ti
on,t
ax compl
i
ance was
r
elat
ivel
yweak.

49. Mr
. Speaker
,tot
al expendi
tur
es (
incl
. out
standi
ng
obl
i
gat
ions)amount
ed t
o GH51.
1 bi
l
li
on atend-
December
20
 2016.Out
standi
ngobl
i
gat
ionsofGH5bi
l
li
on,compr
iseMDA
obl
i
gat
ionswi
thMoF,whi
chhadnoty
etbeencapt
uredont
he
GI
FMI
Saswel
lasoust
andi
ngpay
ment
stoSt
atut
oryFunds.
Theout
standi
ngobl
i
gat
ionsr
elat
emost
lyt
oCompensat
ionof
Empl
oyees,Goodsand Ser
vices,and domest
ical
l
yfi
nanced
Capi
tal
Expendi
tur
e..

Pet
rol
eum Recei
ptsi
n2016

50. MrSpeaker
,in2016,GNPCl
i
ftedsi
xpar
cel
sofcr
udeoi
l
(
consi
sti
ngoft
he31stt
o35t
hJubi
l
eeand1stTENl
i
fti
ngs)on
behal
foft
heSt
ate,andexpor
tedat
otalof21,
580MMscfof
gast
oGhanaNat
ionalGasCompany(
GNGC)
.Tot
alcr
udel
i
fted
was5,
856,
921bar
rel
sofoi
l(4,
860,
462bar
rel
sofJubi
l
eeoi
l
and996,
459bar
rel
sofTENoi
l
).Recei
ptsf
rom cr
udeoi
lli
ft
ings
f
or2016i
ncl
udedr
evenuesf
rom t
hesal
eof4,
824,
417bar
rel
s
ofoi
lfr
om t
he30t
h(l
i
ftedi
nDecember2015)andt
he34t
h
Jubi
l
ee l
i
fti
ngs, whi
ch amount
ed t
o US$207.
79 mi
l
li
on
(
GH811.
68mi
l
li
on)
.Thepr
oceedsf
rom t
he35t
hJubi
l
eeand
1stTEN l
i
fti
ngsi
nDecember2016wer
erecei
vedi
nthef
ir
st
quar
terof2017.Mr
.Speaker
,act
ualpet
rol
eum r
ecei
ptsf
or
2016f
ellshor
toft
he2015per
for
manceby29.
1per
centduet
o
t
hecont
inuousdecl
i
nei
ncr
udeoi
lpr
ices,
thedecl
i
nei
nJubi
l
ee
pr
oduct
ionandl
owerTENpr
oduct
ion.

21
Publ
icDebtDev
elopment

51. Mr
.Speaker
,tot
alpubl
i
cdebtst
ockasatend2016st
oodat
al
most73per
centofGDPupf
rom 71.
63per
centi
n2015.Thi
s
wasduet
othel
argert
hanexpect
edf
iscaldef
ici
tandf
inanci
ng
r
equi
rementi
n2016.Domest
icandext
ernaldebtst
oodat31.
7
per
centofGDP and 40.
8 per
cent
,respect
ivel
y.I
n nomi
nal
t
erms,
thepubl
i
cdebtst
ockasatend2016st
oodatGH122.
3
bi
l
li
on(
US$29.
2bi
l
li
on)
,wi
thdomest
icandext
ernaldebtof
GH53.
4bi
l
li
on(
US$12.
8bi
l
li
on)andGH68.
9bi
l
li
on(
US$16.
5
bi
l
li
on)
,respect
ivel
y.
52.

Ener
gySect
orLev
ies

53. Mr
.Speaker
,theEner
gySect
orLev
iesAct
,2015(
Act899)
wasenact
edt
oconsol
i
dat
eexi
sti
ngener
gysect
orl
evi
est
o
ensur
e ef
fi
ci
entut
il
isat
ion ofpr
oceedsgener
ated f
rom t
he
l
evi
es,i
mpose a pr
ice st
abi
l
isat
ion and r
ecov
eri
es l
evyt
o
f
aci
l
itat
e sust
ainabl
elong t
erm i
nvest
ment
sint
he ener
gy
sect
or,
andt
opr
ovi
def
orot
herr
elat
edmat
ter
s.

54. Mr
.Speaker
,thel
aw r
equi
rest
heut
il
isat
ionoft
heener
gy
sect
orl
evi
esmai
nlyf
ort
hecl
ear
anceofl
egacydebt
sofSOEs
oper
ati
ngi
ntheener
gysect
or,t
osuppor
tpowergener
ati
on
andpowersect
ori
nfr
ast
ruct
ure,subsi
dyf
orpr
emi
xfuel
,and

22
 t
hest
abi
l
isat
ionofpet
rol
eum pr
ices.

55. At
otalamountofGH3.
2bi
l
li
onwaspr
ogr
ammedt
obe
col
l
ect
edast
otalEner
gySect
orLev
ies(
ESL)f
ort
hey
ear2016.
Act
ualcol
l
ect
ionsatt
heendoft
hey
earwasGH3.
3bi
l
li
on.A
br
eakdownoft
heut
il
izat
ionoft
hel
evi
esi
spr
ovi
dedi
nthi
s
BudgetSt
atement
.

56. Mr
.Speaker
,af
ew chal
l
engeshav
ebeenencount
eredi
n
t
heut
il
izat
ionoft
hepr
oceedsandwewi
l
lhav
etocomet
othi
s
augustHousef
oranamendmentoft
heAct
.

MACROECONOMI
CTARGETSFOR2017ANDTHEMEDI
UM TERM

57. Mr
. Speaker
,Gov
ernment
s pol
i
cy obj
ect
ives f
or t
he
medi
um t
erm amongot
her
swi
l
lbet
o:
bui
l
d t
he most busi
ness-
fr
iendl
y and i
ndust
ri
ali
zed
economyi
n Af
ri
ca,capabl
e ofcr
eat
ing decentj
obs and
pr
osper
it
yforal
lGhanai
ans;
moder
nize agr
icul
tur
e, i
mpr
ove pr
oduct
ion ef
fi
ciency
,
achi
evef
oodsecur
it
y,andpr
ofi
tabi
l
ityf
orourf
armer
swi
th
speci
alemphasi
sonv
alue-
addi
ti
on;
dev
elop l
eader
shi
p ski
l
ls, qual
i
ty educat
ion,

23
 ent
repr
eneur
shi
p,j
obski
l
lsandcr
eat
iveski
l
ls;
and
ensur
eaf
unct
ioni
ng soci
alpr
otect
ion sy
stem whi
ch
addr
essest
heneedsoft
heweak,mar
ginal
i
zed,v
ulner
abl
e
andsoci
all
yexcl
uded;
amongot
her
s.

58. Mr
. Speaker
,to achi
eve our br
oad macr
oeconomi
c
obj
ect
ives,
ourpol
i
cydi
rect
ionwi
l
lbet
o:
r
est
oreandsust
ainmacr
oeconomi
cst
abi
l
ity
;
shi
ftt
hef
ocusofeconomi
cmanagementf
rom t
axat
iont
o
pr
oduct
ion;
managet
heeconomycompet
ent
ly;
and
maket
hemachi
ner
yofgov
ernmentwor
kto del
i
vert
he
benef
it
sofpr
ogr
essf
oral
lGhanai
ans.
59. Mr
.Speaker
,pr
udentmonet
aryandext
ernalsect
orpol
i
cies
wi
l
lal
sobepur
suedbyt
heBankofGhanat
ocompl
ementt
he
f
iscal
pol
i
cyst
ancet
oensur
epr
iceandexchanger
atest
abi
l
ity
.

60. Mr
.Speaker
,wear
econf
identt
hatt
heabov
ehi
ghl
i
ght
ed
pol
i
cieswhi
char
edi
scussedi
ndet
aili
ntheBudgetSt
atement
wi
l
l cont
ri
but
e t
o t
he achi
evement of t
he f
oll
owi
ng
macr
oeconomi
ctar
get
sfor2017:
ov
eral
lreal
GDPgr
owt
hof6.
3per
cent
;
non-
oil
real
GDPgr
owt
hof4.
6per
cent
;
24
 end-
yeari
nfl
ati
onof11.
2per
cent
;
av
eragei
nfl
ati
onof12.
4per
cent
;
ov
eral
lfi
scal
def
ici
tof6.
5per
centofGDP;
pr
imar
ysur
plusof0.
4per
centofGDP;
and
Gr
ossFor
eignAsset
stocov
eratl
east3mont
hsofi
mpor
ts
ofgoodsandser
vices.

61. Mr
.Speaker
,webel
i
evest
rongl
ythatourmedi
um-
ter
m
pol
i
cies,anchor
edonf
iscaldi
sci
pli
ne,abr
oadenedt
axbase,
el
i
minat
ion of wast
eful expendi
tur
es, pr
udent debt
managementst
rat
egi
es,compl
ement
arymonet
arypol
i
cy,and
sust
ainabl
e ext
ernal bal
ance wi
l
l ensur
e ev
en bet
ter
macr
oeconomi
cout
comesi
nthemedi
um-
ter
m.Consequent
ly,
t
hemacr
oeconomi
ctar
get
sfort
hemedi
um-
ter
m(2017-
2019)
i
ncl
udet
hef
oll
owi
ng:
ov
eral
lreal
GDPgr
owt
htoav
erage7.
4per
cent
;
non-
oil
real
GDPgr
owt
htoav
erage5.
6per
cent
;
i
nfl
ati
ont
obewi
thi
nthet
argetbandof82per
centi
nthe
2018-
2019per
iod;
ov
eral
lfi
scaldef
ici
ttor
educet
o3per
centbyt
heendof
2019;
cur
rentaccountdef
ici
tpr
oject
edt
odecl
i
net
o4.
8per
cent
ofGDPi
n2018andf
urt
hert
o2.
7per
centofGDPi
n2019;
and

25
 Gr
ossFor
eignAsset
stocov
ernotl
esst
han3.
5mont
hsof
i
mpor
tofgoodsandser
vicesi
nthemedi
um-
ter
m.

62. Mr
.Speaker
,consi
stentwi
thSect
ion16oft
hePFM Act
,
2016 (
Act921)
,wehav
eal
so sett
hef
oll
owi
ng t
arget
son
pr
imar
yandsecondar
yfi
scali
ndi
cat
orst
omoni
tort
hef
iscal
heal
thoft
heeconomyt
owar
dst
heachi
evementofourf
iscal
pol
i
cyobj
ect
ivesi
n2017:

non-
oil
pri
mar
ydef
ici
tof0.
8per
centofGDP;
publ
i
cdebtst
ockequi
val
entt
otowar
dst
rend70.
9per
cent
ofGDP;
capi
tal
spendi
ngof12.
6per
centoft
otal
expendi
tur
es;
and
(
domest
ic)r
evenue-
to-
GDPr
ati
oof21.
4per
cent

Resour
ceMobi
li
zat
ionf
or2017

63. Mr
. Speaker
,tot
al Rev
enue and Gr
ant
s, i
ncl
udi
ng
pr
ogr
ammedr
ecei
ptsf
rom pet
rol
eum f
ort
he2017f
iscaly
ear
,
i
s est
imat
ed at GH44.
9 bi
l
li
on (
22.
1 per
cent of GDP)
,
i
ndi
cat
inga33.
5per
centi
ncr
easeov
ert
hepr
ovi
sionalout
tur
n
i
n2016.Tot
alnon-
pet
rol
eum Rev
enueandGr
ant
sisest
imat
ed
atGH42.
6bi
l
li
on(
21.
4per
centofnon-
oilGDP)r
epr
esent
ing
29.
2per
centi
ncr
easeov
ert
hepr
ovi
sional
out
tur
nin2016.

26
64. Mr
.Speaker
,tot
alr
ecei
ptsf
rom pet
rol
eum i
sest
imat
edat
1.
2per
centofGDPandamount
stoGH2.
4bi
l
li
on,
repr
esent
ing
a231.
2per
centi
ncr
easeov
ert
heout
tur
nin2016.

65. Domest
icr
evenuei
sest
imat
edatGH43.
4bi
l
li
onor21.
4
per
centofGDPandi
sexpect
edt
obe33.
5per
centhi
ghert
han
t
hepr
ovi
si
onal
out
tur
nin2016.

66. Mr
.Speaker
,tot
alt
axr
evenuei
sest
imat
edatGH34.
4
bi
l
li
on,r
epr
esent
ing6.
9per
centofGDP.Oft
hisamount
,non-
pet
rol
eum t
axr
evenuei
sest
imat
edt
ogr
ow by32.
4per
cent
andt
hisamount
stoGH33.
8bi
l
li
onequi
val
entt
o16.
9per
cent
ofnon-
oil
GDP.

67. TaxesonI
ncomeandPr
oper
tyi
sest
imat
edt
oincr
easeby
47.
7per
centt
oGH13.
4bi
l
li
oni
n2017,account
ingf
or39.
1
per
centoft
otalt
axr
evenue.Oft
hisamount
,Roy
alt
iesf
rom
pet
rol
eum i
sest
imat
edatGH616.
8mi
l
li
on.

68. TaxesonGoodsandSer
vicesar
eest
imat
edatGH13.
9
bi
l
li
on,r
epr
esent
ing13.
3per
centi
ncr
easeov
ert
hepr
ovi
sional
out
tur
nin2016and40.
3per
centoft
heest
imat
edt
otalt
ax
r
evenuef
or2017.

27
 69. I
nter
nat
ionalTr
adet
axes,ar
eest
imat
edatGH7.
1bi
l
li
on,
r
epr
esent
ing3.
5per
centofGDP and20.
6per
centoft
otalt
ax
r
evenue.Thi
sest
imat
erepr
esent
sa61.
1per
centi
ncr
easeov
er
t
hepr
ovi
si
onal
out
tur
nfor2016.

70. Mr
.Speaker
,the si
gni
fi
cant gr
owt
h of t
hist
ax t
ype
emanat
esmai
nlyf
rom addi
ti
onalGH1.
0bi
l
li
oni
ntaxmeasur
es
t
hatwi
l
lber
eal
i
sedassav
ingsf
rom t
her
educt
ioni
ntheamount
ofi
mpor
texempt
ionst
hatwi
l
lbegr
ant
edi
nthe2017f
iscal
year
.

71. Mr
.Speaker
,Non-
tax r
evenue,i
s est
imat
ed atGH6.
7
bi
l
li
on (
3.3 per
cent of GDP)
,repr
esent
ing 15.
3 per
cent of
domest
icr
evenue.AnamountofGH3.
4bi
l
li
oni
sexpect
edt
obe
r
etai
nedbyMDAsf
ort
hef
undi
ngoft
hei
ract
ivi
ti
esandt
her
est
l
odgedi
ntot
heConsol
i
dat
edFund.Oft
het
otalamountest
imat
ed
f
orNon-
taxr
evenue,anamountofGH1.
7bi
l
li
oni
sest
imat
edas
non-
taxpet
rol
eum r
evenue.

72. Mr
. Speaker
, gr
ant
s f
rom Dev
elopment Par
tner
s i
s
est
imat
edatGH1.
5bi
l
li
on,
equi
val
entt
o0.
8per
centofGDP.

Resour
ceAl
locat
ionf
or2017

73. Mr
.Speaker
,tot
alexpendi
tur
e,i
ncl
udi
ngpr
ovi
sionmadef
or
t
hecl
ear
anceofar
rear
sandout
standi
ngcommi
tment
sin2017i
s
28
est
imat
edatGH58.
1bi
l
li
on,equi
val
entt
o28.
6per
centofGDP.
Theest
imat
edexpendi
tur
efort
hey
earr
epr
esent
sa13.
7per
cent
i
ncr
easeov
ert
hepr
ovi
si
onalout
tur
nfor2016.Oft
hisamount
,
GH3.
7bi
l
li
on,equi
val
entt
o1.
8per
centofGDPand6.
4per
cent
oft
otalexpendi
tur
ewi
l
lbeusedf
ort
hecl
ear
anceofar
rear
sand
out
standi
ngcommi
tment
s.

74. Mr
.Speaker
,pr
ovi
si
onhasbeenmadef
ort
hecl
ear
anceof
upt
o20per
centoft
heout
standi
ngcl
aimsf
rom pr
evi
ousy
ear
s
whi
l
esweawai
ttheout
comeofaspeci
alf
orensi
caudi
toft
hese
out
standi
ngcl
aims.

75. Mr
.Speaker
,Compensat
ionofEmpl
oyeesi
sest
imat
edat
GH16.
0bi
l
li
on(
7.9per
centofGDP)
.Oft
hisamount
,GH14.
0
bi
l
li
on,
equi
val
entt
o6.
9per
centofGDP.

76. Expendi
tur
eonGoodsandSer
vicesi
sest
imat
edatGH3.
5
bi
l
li
on,
repr
esent
ing1.
7per
centofGDP.

77. Tot
alI
nter
est Pay
ment est
imat
ed at GH13.
9 bi
l
li
on,
r
epr
esent
s23.
9per
centoft
otalexpendi
tur
eandi
sequi
val
entt
o
6.
9per
centofGDP.Oft
hisamount
,domest
ici
nter
estpay
ment
const
it
utes 80.
5 per
centoft
he t
otalI
nter
estPay
mentand

29
amount
stoGH11.
2bi
l
li
on.

78. Mr
.Speaker
,theexi
sti
ngl
egi
slat
iont
hathav
eunder
pinned
t
heest
imat
ionofGr
ant
stoot
herGov
ernmentuni
tsov
ert
hey
ear
s
i
sbei
ngr
evi
ewedt
obr
eakt
hecy
cleofr
igi
dit
iesi
ntheBudget
.
Consequent
ly,Gr
ant
sto ot
herGov
ernmentuni
ts,compr
isi
ng
st
atut
orypay
ment
sint
othe Nat
ionalHeal
thI
nsur
ance Fund,
GhanaEducat
ionTr
ustFund,t
heDi
str
ictAssembl
i
esCommon
Fund,RoadFund,Ener
gyFund,t
ransf
ert
otheGhanaNat
ional
Pet
rol
eum Company
,ret
ent
ionofi
nter
nal
l
y-gener
atedf
undsby
MDAsandot
herear
mar
kedFundshasbeenconst
rai
nedt
oa
cei
l
ingof25per
centoft
axr
evenues.Thet
otalal
l
ocat
ionf
or
gr
ant
stoOt
herGov
ernmentUni
tsi
sGH9.
7bi
l
li
on.

79. Mr
.Speaker
,inaddi
ti
ont
othesi
gni
fi
cantt
axi
ncent
ives
gr
ant
edi
nthi
syear
sBudget
,anamountofGH241.
2mi
l
li
onhas
beenbudget
edi
nSoci
alBenef
it
stoassi
stl
i
fel
i
neconsumer
sof
el
ect
ri
ci
tyandt
ransf
ersf
orsoci
alpr
otect
ion.

80. At
otalamountofGH7.
1bi
l
li
onhasbeenal
l
ocat
edf
or
capi
talexpendi
tur
e.Oft
hisamount
,38.
9per
centwi
l
lbef
inanced
f
rom domest
icsour
cesandt
her
emai
ningf
rom f
orei
gnsour
ces.

30
Ov
eral
lBudgetBal
anceandFi
nanci
ngf
or2017

81. Mr
.Speaker
,based on t
he r
evenue and expendi
tur
e
est
imat
es,t
he2017budgetwi
l
lresul
tinanov
eral
lbudgetdef
ici
t
ofGH13.
2bi
l
li
on,
equi
val
entt
o6.
5per
centofGDP.

82. Fi
nanci
ngoft
hedef
ici
twi
l
lbef
rom bot
hdomest
icand
f
orei
gnsour
ces.NetDomest
icFi
nanci
ngi
sest
imat
edatGH14.
6
bi
l
li
on,equi
val
entt
o7.
1per
centofGDP,andi
ncl
udesf
inanci
ng
f
rom di
vest
it
urepr
oceedsofGH1.
8bi
l
li
on.Netf
orei
gnf
inanci
ng
i
sest
imat
ed t
o const
it
uteanetr
epay
mentofGH1.
3 bi
l
li
on,
equi
val
entt
o0.
6per
centofGDP.AnamountofGH300.
7mi
l
li
on,
equi
val
entt
o0.
1per
centofGDPi
sest
imat
edt
obesav
edi
nthe
GhanaPet
rol
eum andCont
ingencyFundswhi
l
etheSi
nki
ngFund
i
sexpect
edt
obedr
awn-
downbyGH716.
1mi
l
li
on.

Pr
oject
ionof2017Pet
rol
eum Recei
ptsandal
locat
ion

83. Mr
.Speaker
,theest
imat
edBenchmar
kRev
enue(
BR)pr
ice
f
orcr
udeoi
lisUS$56.
142perbar
relf
or2017wi
thabenchmar
k
out
putof43,
875,
920 bar
rel
s(120,
208 bopd)and 32,
512,
497
MMBt
uforoi
landgas,
respect
ivel
y.

84. Thepet
rol
eum r
evenuef
or2017i
sest
imat
edatUS$515.
64
mi
ll
ion,
wit
hBRpr
oject
edatUS$242.
08mi
ll
ion.
31
85. MrSpeaker
,thesecond3-
yearcy
clef
ort
her
evi
ew oft
he
pet
rol
eum r
evenuedi
str
ibut
ionf
ormul
a,asst
ipul
atedi
nthePRMA,
hasel
apsed.Wewoul
dli
ket
orequestt
hisaugustHouset
o
mai
ntai
ntheexi
sti
ngdi
str
ibut
ionf
ormul
aasf
oll
ows:

30per
centoft
henetCar
ri
edandPar
ti
cipat
ingI
nter
est
t
oGNPC;
70per
centofnetr
ecei
pts(
aft
erGNPC
s)t
otheABFA;
30per
centofnetr
ecei
pts(
aft
erGNPC
s)t
otheGhana
Pet
rol
eum Funds;
30 per
centoft
he amountal
l
ocat
ed t
othe Ghana
Pet
rol
eum Fundst
otheGhanaHer
it
ageFund;
and
70 per
centoft
he amountal
l
ocat
ed t
othe Ghana
Pet
rol
eum Fundst
otheGhanaSt
abi
l
isat
ionFund.

86. Wewoul
dal
sol
i
ket
heHouset
oappr
ovet
hef
oll
owi
ng
pr
ior
it
yar
easf
ort
hespendi
ngoft
heABFAf
or2017-
2019,i
nli
ne
wi
tht
hePRMA:

Agr
icul
tur
e;
Phy
sical I
nfr
ast
ruct
ure and Ser
vice Del
i
ver
y i
n
Educat
ion;
Phy
sicalI
nfr
ast
ruct
ureandSer
viceDel
i
ver
yinHeal
th;

32
 and
RoadandRai
lInf
rast
ruct
ureDev
elopment
.

TheMedi
um Ter
m DebtSt
rat
egyandDebtSust
ainabi
li
tyAnal
ysi
s

87. Mr
.Speaker
,thedebtst
rat
egyf
ort
hemedi
um t
erm woul
d
bet
omanaget
hepubl
i
cdebtatt
hel
owestcostandatpr
udent
l
evel
sofr
iskt
obr
ingourdebtt
oGDPr
ati
oto65per
centov
ert
he
medi
um t
erm.

88. Consequent
ly,i
naccor
dancewi
tht
her
equi
rementoft
he
Publ
i
cFi
nanci
alManagementAct
,2016(
Act921)
,myMi
nist
rywi
l
l
conductandpubl
i
shaDebtSust
ainabi
l
ityAnal
ysi
s(DSA)and
updat
etheMTDSt
ogui
det
hebor
rowi
ngpl
anandoper
ati
ons.The
r
epor
tswi
l
linf
orm pol
i
cydeci
sions,
leadi
ngt
other
educt
ioni
nthe
debtbur
denandi
nsul
ati
onagai
nstot
herf
iscal
vul
ner
abi
l
iti
es.

SECTORALPERFORMANCEANDOUTLOOK

89. Mr
.Speaker
,thesect
oralpol
i
ciesar
edesi
gnedt
oachi
eve
our br
oad obj
ect
ives of j
obs and weal
th cr
eat
ion and
macr
oeconomi
cst
abi
l
itywhi
l
eensur
ingcompl
i
ancewi
tht
he
PFM Act
.Per
mitme t
o updat
ethi
s augustHouse on t
he
per
for
manceofsomekeysect
orsoft
heeconomyandt
he
33
 out
lookf
or2017andt
hemedi
um t
erm.Iwi
l
lbegi
nwi
tht
his
AugustHouse;

PARLI
AMENTOFGHANA
90. Mr
. Speaker
, Par
li
ament cont
inued t
o di
schar
ge i
ts
mandat
ethr
ought
heconsi
der
ati
onof181Paper
sincl
udi
ng25
Bi
l
ls,f
ourLegi
sl
ati
veI
nst
rument
s(L.
Is)
,ei
ghtConst
it
uti
onal
I
nst
rument
s(C.
Is)
,19LoanAgr
eement
sand39Commi
tt
ee
Repor
ts.Outoft
he25Bi
l
lsl
aid,
18wer
epassedi
ntol
aw.

91. Par
li
ament al
so f
aci
l
itat
ed t
he est
abl
i
shment of t
he
Scr
uti
nyOf
fi
cet
opr
ovi
deexper
tanal
ysi
sofpol
i
cymeasur
es
onBi
l
ls,
thebudget
,loanagr
eement
sandi
nter
nat
ional
financi
al
t
ransact
ionsbr
oughtbef
oret
heHousef
orappr
oval
.In2017,
t
he Of
fi
ce wi
l
lbe st
rengt
hened t
o under
take pr
e-l
egi
slat
ive
scr
uti
nyofbi
l
lst
hroughr
esear
chandi
nfor
mat
ionpur
suantt
o
t
hePFM Act
.

92. Mr
.Speaker
,Par
li
amentwi
l
lcompl
etet
her
evi
ew ofi
ts
St
andi
ngOr
der
stoopenupcommi
tt
eemeet
ingst
othepubl
i
c
and empower commi
tt
ees t
o under
take i
ndependent
i
nvest
igat
ions, and summon wi
tnesses and gov
ernment
of
fi
ci
alst
oappearbef
orei
t.

93. ThePar
li
ament
aryTr
aini
ngI
nst
it
uteest
abl
i
shedi
n2016
34
 wi
l
lbest
rengt
henedt
o under
takeandpr
omot
eresear
chi
n
par
li
ament
arydemocr
acy
.ASt
rat
egi
cPl
anf
ort
het
ake-
offof
t
heI
nst
it
utewi
l
lbedev
elopedi
n2017.

AGRI
CULTURE

94. MrSpeaker
,thegov
ernmentr
ecogni
zesagr
icul
tur
east
he
mai
nanchoroft
hecount
ry
seconomy
.Unf
ort
unat
elywehav
e
wi
tnessedast
eadydecl
i
nei
nthesect
orandpr
oduct
ionl
evel
s
hav
efal
l
enconsi
stent
lyov
ert
hey
ear
s.I
nthemedi
um t
erm,
we
i
ntendt
omoder
nizet
hesect
ort
oimpr
ovepr
oduct
ivi
tyand
achi
evef
oodsecur
it
yandpr
ofi
tabi
l
ityf
orourf
armer
s.

95. MrSpeaker
,in2017gov
ernmentwi
l
llauncht
he
Plant
ing
f
orFoodandJobscampai
gn.

96. Thecampai
gni
sdesi
gnedt
oencour
ageal
lci
ti
zens(
bot
h
ur
banandr
ural
)tot
akeupf
armi
ngasaf
ull
orpar
t-
ti
meact
ivi
ty.
I
tisi
ntendedt
ost
ruct
urei
tal
ongt
hel
i
nesoft
heer
stwhi
l
e

Oper
ati
onFeedYour
sel
f(
OFY)pr
ogr
ammei
nthe1970s.The
campai
gnwi
l
linv
olv
ethepr
oduct
ionofmai
ze,r
ice,soy
bean,
sor
ghum and v
eget
abl
es.Ot
hercr
ops wi
l
lbe adopt
ed i
n
subsequenty
ear
s.

35
 97. Thecampai
gnwi
l
lbeanchor
edonf
ivepi
l
lar
snamel
y:
Pr
ovi
si
onofi
mpr
ovedseeds;
suppl
yoff
ert
il
izer
s;
pr
ovi
sionofdedi
cat
edext
ensi
onser
vices;
mar
ket
ingand
E-
Agr
icul
tur
eandMoni
tor
ing.

98. Thi
sini
ti
ati
vei
sexpect
edt
oincr
easet
hepr
oduct
ionof
mai
zeby30per
centf
rom cur
rentpr
oduct
ionl
evel
s,r
iceby49
per
cent
,soy
beanby25per
centandsor
ghum by28per
cent
.
Thi
s wi
l
lcr
eat
e 750,
000 j
obs i
n bot
h di
rectand i
ndi
rect
empl
oyment
.

99. TheMi
nist
rywi
l
limpor
timpr
ovedseedst
oaugmentany
shor
tfal
lfort
he
Plant
ingf
orFoodandJobscampai
gn.

100.Mr
.Speaker
,in2017,
theMi
nist
rywi
l
lcont
inuet
heFer
ti
li
zer
Subsi
dy Pr
ogr
amme t
o hel
pincr
ease t
he pr
oduct
ivi
ty of
f
armer
s.Tot
hisef
fect
,wei
ntendt
odi
str
ibut
enat
ionwi
de,an
expect
ed180t
housandmet
ri
ctonnesofsubsi
dizedf
ert
il
izer
.

FI
SHERI
ES
101.Mr
.Speakert
hef
isher
iessubsect
orempl
oysasi
gni
fi
cant
numberofourpeopl
eespeci
all
yal
ongt
hecoast
alar
eas.Ov
er

36
 t
hepasty
ear
s,ef
for
tshav
ebeenmadet
oal
soboostbot
h
mar
ine and i
nland f
ishi
ng and suppor
t aquacul
tur
e
dev
elopment
.Howev
erwebel
i
evet
hatweneedt
omoder
nize
t
hear
ti
sanalf
ishi
ngmet
hodst
oensur
esust
ainabl
efi
shi
ngand
al
soi
mpr
ovepr
oduct
ionl
evel
s.

102.Tomoder
nizeandt
ransf
orm t
hei
ndust
ry,t
heMi
nist
rywi
l
l
compl
ete phase one oft
he Anomabo Fi
sher
ies Col
l
ege t
o
enhancer
esear
chandknowl
edge-
basei
nfi
sher
iest
echnol
ogy
f
or al
l oper
ator
s. I
t wi
l
l al
so col
l
abor
ate wi
th r
elev
ant
i
nst
it
uti
onsandt
hepr
ivat
esect
ort
odev
elopmoder
nlandi
ng
si
tesandst
oragef
aci
l
iti
esatJamesTown,CapeCoast
,Axi
m
andMumf
ord.
TRADEANDI
NDUSTRY

103.Mr
.Speakert
hecount
ry
sindust
ri
alsect
orf
acessi
gni
fi
cant
chal
l
enges.Thepr
inci
palonesofwhi
char
elackofaccesst
o
f
inance,hi
ghi
nter
estr
ates,i
nadequat
eandpoorqual
i
tyr
aw
mat
eri
alsf
ori
ndust
ri
alpr
ocessi
ng,poor
lydev
elopeddomest
ic
t
radeandanunr
eli
abl
eandexpensi
vepowersour
ce.

104.The goalofgov
ernmentov
ert
he medi
um t
erm i
sto
addr
esst
hesechal
l
engesi
nway
sthatenabl
eindust
ryt
othr
ive
andbecomeamaj
orsour
ceofj
obsespeci
all
yfort
hey
out
h.A
numberofmaj
orpol
i
cyi
nter
vent
ionswi
l
lbei
nit
iat
edt
hisy
ear
37
 aspar
toft
hisst
rat
egy
.

105.I
n2017,
theMi
nist
rywi
l
lrol
louti
tsdi
str
ictl
evelcomponent
of t
he Nat
ionalExpor
t St
rat
egy t
o dev
elop one expor
t
commodi
tyi
nev
erydi
str
ict
.

106.I
n2017,t
heGhanaCommodi
ti
esExchange(
GCX)pr
oject
wi
l
lest
abl
i
shast
ate-
of-
the-
art
,tr
anspar
ent
,andpr
ofessi
onal
mar
keti
nst
it
uti
onst
ocr
eat
eanor
der
ly,t
ranspar
entandr
eady
mar
ketf
orgoodst
hatar
epr
oducedbyf
armer
sint
hecount
ry.

TOURI
SM,
CULTUREANDCREATI
VEARTS
107.Mr
.Speaker
,Tour
ism,Cul
tur
eandCr
eat
iveAr
tsr
emai
ns
one oft
he mostunder
dev
eloped sect
orsi
n oureconomy
despi
tet
hei
mmensegr
owt
hpot
ent
ialandoppor
tuni
ti
esf
orj
ob
cr
eat
ion.

108.Whendev
eloped,t
hesect
orcanposi
ti
vel
yimpactt
hel
i
ves
of many i
ndi
vi
dual
s, f
ami
l
ies, communi
ti
es and smal
l
ent
erpr
isesi
nourcount
ryandpr
ovi
dingneededj
obsf
orour
t
eemi
ngy
out
h.Ourobj
ect
ivei
stot
ransf
ormt
hecount
ryi
ntoa
maj
orMeet
ing,I
ncent
ive Conf
erence and Exhi
bit
ion cent
er
(
MICE)
.To f
aci
l
itat
ethi
s we wi
l
laggr
essi
vel
ydev
elop our

38
t
our
istsi
test
obr
ingt
hem t
owor
ldcl
assst
andar
ds.

109.I
n2017,t
heGov
ernmentwi
l
lki
ckst
artt
heMar
ineDr
ive
Tour
ism I
nvest
mentPr
ojectcov
eri
ngt
heov
er240acr
esof
l
andf
rom OsuChr
ist
iansbor
gCast
let
otheAr
tsCent
er.Thi
s
pr
ojectwi
l
ltr
ansf
ormt
hebeachar
eai
ntoat
our
ism encl
avet
o
cr
eat
ejobsf
orourt
eemi
ngy
out
h.

110.TheMi
nist
rywi
l
lpar
tnert
hepr
ivat
esect
ort
odev
elopt
he
Ef
uaSut
her
landPar
kint
oanul
tr
a-moder
nwor
ldcl
assPar
k.
Speci
fi
cal
l
yfor2017,Mr
.Speaker
,wewi
l
luseI
Ttopr
omot
e
andmar
kett
our
ism v
iat
hesi
ngl
epor
tal
window.

111.Mr
.Speaker
,theMi
nist
rywi
l
lal
sounder
takeaf
oodf
est
ival
t
oshowcaset
hedi
ver
ser
ichGhanai
anf
oodst
hroughcooki
ng
compet
it
iont
hroughoutt
hecount
ry.

ENERGY
112.Mr
.Speaker
,thi
s gov
ernmenti
ntends t
o ensur
ethat
Ghanai
ans enj
oyr
eli
abl
e,ef
fi
cientand af
for
dabl
e powert
o
pr
ovi
decomf
orti
nthei
rhomesandsuppor
tthedev
elopment
andgr
owt
hoft
hei
rbusi
nesses.

113.I
n2016,si
gni
fi
cantef
for
tswer
emadet
oaddr
esssomeof
39
t
hechal
l
engesi
nthesect
or.Thi
sincl
udeani
ncr
easei
nthe
t
otali
nst
all
ed gener
ati
on capaci
ty by 880MW. I
n 2017,
Gov
ernmentwi
l
lcont
inuet
oincr
easet
hei
nst
all
edgener
ati
on
capaci
ty oft
he count
ryt
o meett
he gr
owi
ng demand f
or
el
ect
ri
cit
y.At
otalof1227MW ofi
nst
all
edcapaci
tyschedul
ed
t
o be added i
ncl
ude:370MW AKSA pr
oject
,107MW GPGC
pr
oject
,350MW CenPowerPr
ojectand400MW Ear
lyPower
Pr
ojectamongot
her
s.

114.Mr
.Speaker
,ECG andNEDCO wi
l
lcont
inuewi
thsy
stem
upgr
adepr
oject
stoi
mpr
ovet
hequal
i
tyofpowersuppl
yto
cust
omer
s.Fur
ther
mor
e,st
epswoul
dbet
akent
oensur
ethat
out
standi
ng i
ssues sur
roundi
ng t
he i
mpl
ement
ati
on oft
he
Ghana Compact I
I ar
e addr
essed, t
o al
l
ow f
or i
ts
i
mpl
ement
ati
on,
inor
dert
oachi
evet
hedesi
redobj
ect
ives.

115.Mr
.Speakerwi
thr
egar
dst
ooi
landgas,Gov
ernmentwi
l
l
wor
kwi
tht
heJubi
l
eePar
tner
stoaddr
esst
heshor
tfal
linoi
l
andgaspr
oduct
ionr
esul
ti
ngf
rom t
he2016damageont
he
t
urr
etbear
ingonFPSOKwameNkr
umahandwi
l
ladoptat
hree
phaseappr
oacht
oconv
ertt
heFPSO KwameNkr
umaht
oa
per
manent
lyspr
ead-
moor
ed.Fi
rstgasf
rom t
heTENf
iel
dtot
he
GasPr
ocessi
ngPl
ant(
GPP)i
sexpect
edi
nthef
ir
sthal
fof2017.
GNPCi
sengagi
ngwi
tht
hepar
tner
stodev
elopani
ntegr
ated
t
echni
calandcommer
cialschedul
ethatwi
l
ltar
getgasst
art
-up
40
 i
nthe2ndquar
terof2018.

Rai
l
wayDev
elopment
116.Mr
.Speaker
,thi
sgov
ernmentbel
i
evest
hatr
ailwi
l
lbea
maj
orcat
aly
stt
o dr
ivet
hegr
owt
hthatweenv
isagei
nthe
comi
ngy
ear
s.Rai
ltr
anspor
tat
ionpr
ovi
dessaf
er,cheaperand
f
ast
erwayofmov
inggoodsandpeopl
etof
aci
l
itat
etr
adeand
suppor
teconomi
cact
ivi
ty.Ourv
isi
oni
stoopenupt
hecount
ry
andpr
ovi
denew oppor
tuni
ti
est
oourpeopl
etodobusi
ness
andt
radeamongt
hemsel
ves.

117.I
nthatr
egar
d,gov
ernmentwi
l
lcompl
etet
heSekondit
o
Takor
adiv
iaKoj
okr
om sect
ionandcont
inuewi
tht
hesect
ion
f
rom Koj
okr
om t
oTar
kwat
hroughNsut
a.Thi
swi
l
lhel
pimpr
ove
t
heoper
ati
onalper
for
manceandr
evenueofGhanaRai
l
way
CompanyLi
mit
ed(
GRCL)andenabl
etheCompanyweani
tsel
f
f
rom Gov
ernmentsuppor
t.I
n addi
ti
on,i
twi
l
lenhance t
he
per
for
mance and compet
it
iveness oft
he manganese mi
ne
l
ocat
edont
hecor
ri
dor
.

118.Wor
kwi
l
lcommenceonTheWest
ernLi
newhi
chst
art
s
f
rom Takor
adiandt
ermi
nat
esatKumasihav
ingt
wobr
anch
l
i
nesnamel
y;Dunkwa t
o Awaso and Koj
okr
om t
o Sekondi
,
cov
eri
ngadi
stanceof340km.Thecor
ri
dorwhencompl
eted,
wi
l
lfaci
l
itat
ethehaul
ageofmanganese,bauxi
te,cocoaand
41
ot
herbul
kcommodi
ti
es.TheFeasi
bil
i
tySt
udi
esandFr
ontEnd
Engi
neer
ingDesi
gn(
FEED)hav
eal
readybeendoneont
heLi
ne.

119.Wewi
l
lal
soi
nit
iat
edi
scussi
ont
osecur
efundi
ngf
orot
her
maj
orpr
oject
s,suchas,
theCent
ralSpi
newhi
chst
ret
chesf
rom
Kumasi
toPagacov
eri
ngadi
stanceof700km.Thecor
ri
dori
sa
gr
eenf
iel
dandwi
l
lbedev
elopedi
nsect
ions.Thesect
ionsar
e
Kumasit
oBui
peandBui
pet
oPaga.Apr
efeasi
bil
i
tyst
udywas
under
takenont
hel
i
ne,andi
n2017,wepl
ant
ounder
takef
ull
f
easi
bil
i
tyst
udi
est
oenabl
etheMi
nist
ryt
oinv
itedev
eloper
s
andsour
cef
undi
ngf
ort
hedev
elopment
.

120.TheEast
ernRai
l
wayLi
newi
l
lcov
eradi
stanceof330km
and st
art
sfr
om Accr
ato Kumasiwi
th a br
anch l
i
ne f
rom
Achi
mot
atoTema.Whent
hel
i
nebecomesoper
ati
onal
,itwi
l
l
decongestt
hepor
tandf
aci
l
itat
ethemov
ementofcar
goand
passenger
stoKumasi
andi
tsenv
irons.

121.TheCent
ralRai
l
wayLi
newi
l
lcov
eradi
stanceof200km
andspansf
rom Kot
okuont
heEast
ernLi
net
oHuniVal
l
eyon
t
heWest
ernLi
ne.I
twi
l
lhav
eabr
anchl
i
nef
rom Achi
aset
o
Kadeandwepl
ant
ounder
takef
easi
bil
i
tyst
udyont
hel
i
neand
ext
endi
ttoKi
bi.

42
 HOUSI
NG
122.Mr
.Speaker
,gov
ernmentr
ecogni
zest
hatt
hedr
eam ofal
l
Ghanai
ans,i
stoownahomeoratl
eastt
ohav
edecentr
ent
al
accommodat
ion.Ther
ear
e,howev
er,maj
orconst
rai
ntst
othi
s
dr
eam.Thesei
ncl
ude:
Thehi
ghcostofbuy
ingandr
ent
ingahome;
Under
suppl
yofannual
requi
rement
sofhousi
nguni
ts;
Lack of l
ong t
erm f
inanci
ng f
or r
eal est
ate
dev
elopment
;and
Lackofappr
opr
iat
efi
nanci
ngar
rangement
.

123.To r
educe t
he housi
ng def
ici
t,gov
ernment wi
l
luse
appr
opr
iat
emi
xofpubl
i
cpol
i
cyandpubl
i
cpr
ivat
einv
est
ment
t
odel
i
verqual
i
ty,af
for
dabl
e,housi
ngsol
uti
onst
hatmeet
sthe
needsandf
inanci
alcapaci
tyofor
dinar
yGhanai
ans.

Wat
erandSani
tat
ion

124.Mr
.Speaker
,maj
orwat
erpr
ojectt
obeunder
takeni
n2017
woul
d i
ncl
ude, t
he cont
inuat
ion of t
he Gr
eat
er Accr
a
Met
ropol
i
tanAr
ea(
GAMA)wat
erext
ensi
onpr
oject
saswel
las
t
hoseofKumasi
andCapeCoast
.TheKpong,
Aki
m OdaandHo
wat
erexpansi
onpr
oject
s,TonoWat
erTr
eat
mentpr
ojectf
or

43
 t
heUpperEastRegi
oni
nNav
rongo,aswel
last
hoseoft
he
YendiandDamongowi
l
lbeunder
takenwhi
l
stt
heWapr
oject
wi
l
lbe compl
eted.Pr
epar
ator
ywor
ks f
ort
he Suny
aniand
Techi
man as wel
las t
he Sekondi
-Takor
adiwat
ersuppl
y
pr
oject
swi
l
lbef
inal
i
zed.

125.I
naddi
ti
on,Mr
.Speaker
,wi
l
lcompl
etet
heongoi
ng1,
000
bor
ehol
espr
oject
sandal
soi
nit
iat
etheconst
ruct
ionofatl
east
2,
000bor
ehol
esacr
osst
hecount
ryaspar
toft
hedr
ivet
oget
uscl
osert
othedesi
redgoal
of
Wat
erf
orAl
l
.

126.I
n20I
7,t
heMi
nist
rywi
l
lpur
sueaCompr
ehensi
veSl
udge
ManagementPr
ogr
amme(
CoSMaP)t
arget
edatconst
ruct
ing
2No.FaecalSl
udgeTr
eat
mentPl
ant
sinSekondi
-Takor
adiand
Tamal
eMet
ropol
i
tanAr
easwi
tht
heobj
ect
iveofst
emmi
ngt
he
di
sposaloff
aecalmat
teri
ntowat
erbodi
esanddr
ains.The
Mi
nist
rywi
l
lal
sopr
ovi
deappr
opr
iat
euni
for
m andi
dent
if
icat
ion
f
or4,
500Env
ironment
alHeal
thOf
fi
cer
snat
ionwi
det
oensur
e
v
isi
bil
i
ty and enf
orcementofenv
ironment
alsani
tat
ion and
basi
chy
gieneby
e-l
aws.

RoadsandHi
ghway
s

44
127.TheMi
nist
rymai
ntai
nedi
tsf
ocusonr
out
ineandper
iodi
c
mai
ntenanceact
ivi
ti
est
opr
otectt
hehugei
nvest
mentmadeby
Gov
ernmenti
nthepr
ovi
si
onoft
her
oadi
nfr
ast
ruct
ure.I
n2016,
r
out
ine mai
ntenance act
ivi
ti
es wer
e under
taken on
10,
723.
49km (
90per
centoft
heappr
ovedwor
kpl
an)oft
he
t
runkr
oad net
wor
k;16,
183km (
72 per
centoft
heappr
oved
wor
k pl
an)on t
he f
eederr
oad net
wor
k;and 9,
384km (
94
per
centoft
heappr
ovedwor
kpl
an)ont
heur
banr
oadnet
wor
k.

128.MrSpeaker
,inspi
teoft
hemaj
ori
nvest
ment
smadei
nthe
r
oadsect
or,wecont
inuet
ohav
emaj
orchal
l
enges.Thepast
f
ew y
ear
shasr
ecor
dedasi
gni
fi
canti
ncr
easei
ntheawar
dof
cont
ract
s,l
eadi
ngt
oal
argepor
tfol
iofpr
oject
sthatar
ein
excessofwhatourbudgetcanaccommodat
e.Thi
shasl
edt
o
del
ayed pay
ment
s and t
he r
esul
tant penal
ty pay
ment
s,
accumul
ati
on ofar
rear
sand unaccept
abl
epoorqual
i
tybut
cost
lyr
oadconst
ruct
ion.

129.Ther
ear
eal
so t
hei
ssuesofl
i
mit
edcont
ract
orcapaci
ti
es
l
eadi
ngt
osubst
andar
dwor
k,encr
oachmentofr
ightofwayand
l
ack ofmai
ntenance and car
e. I
n 2017 gov
ernmentwi
l
l
under
takear
evi
ew t
oofexi
sti
ngpr
oject
stobr
ingt
hem t
o
mor
e sust
ainabl
e l
evel
s and wi
thi
n av
ail
abl
e f
undi
ng.
Moni
tor
ing wi
l
lbe st
renght
ened and ef
fi
ciency measur
es
f
oll
owed.New peoj
ect
swi
l
lonl
ybeaccomodat
edaf
tert
his
45
 r
evi
ewandwi
thi
ntheal
l
owabl
efi
scal
space

130.I
nthe meant
ime mai
ntenance wor
k wi
l
lbe cont
inued.
These wi
l
lincl
ude 11,
900km,22,
950km and 10,
200km of
r
out
ine mai
ntenance act
ivi
ti
es (
gradi
ng,pot
hol
e pat
chi
ng,
shoul
dermai
ntenance,
veget
ati
oncont
rol
)ont
runk,
feederand
ur
banr
oadnet
wor
ksr
espect
ivel
y.

131.TheMi
nist
rywi
l
lal
sounder
takemi
norr
ehabi
l
itat
ionwor
ks
on60km oft
runkr
oads,350km off
eederr
oadsand100km of
ur
banr
oads.

132. I
n2017,
195km oft
runkr
oadsand25km ofur
banr
oadswi
l
l
be const
ruct
ed. Some of t
he key r
oads pr
ogr
ammed f
or
const
ruct
ioni
ncl
ude;

Const
ruct
ionofBr
idgeont
heVol
taRi
veratVol
i
vo

Nsawam -ApedwaRoad(
Kwaf
okr
om ApedwaRoad)

Tamal
eYendi
Road

Bol
gat
angaBawku-Pol
makom

Nkwant
a-Ot
iDamankoRoad

Ot
iDamanko-Nakpandur
iRoad

46
 Ber
ekum Sei
kwaRoad

Enchi
-Dadi
esoRoad

KasoaI
nter
changeandAnci
l
lar
yWor
ks

Dual
i
sat
ionofHoMai
nRoads

Const
ruct
ionofHoBy
pass

Const
ruct
ionofObet
sebi
Lampt
eyI
nter
change

Const
ruct
ionofPokuaseI
nter
change

Kumasi
RoadsandDr
ainageExt
ensi
onPr
oject

EDUCATI
ON
133.Themandat
eoft
heMi
nist
ryi
stopr
ovi
deequi
tabl
eaccess
andqual
i
tyeducat
iont
oal
lGhanai
anst
omaket
hem f
unct
ional
ci
ti
zensi
nor
dert
ocont
ri
but
etot
hegr
owt
handdev
elopment
oft
hecount
ry.

134.Ov
ert
hemedi
um t
erm,Gov
ernmentai
msi
stoshi
ftt
he
st
ruct
ureandcont
entofGhana
seducat
ionsy
stem awayf
rom
mer
elypassi
ngexami
nat
ionst
obui
l
dingchar
act
er,nur
tur
ing
v
aluesandr
aisi
ngl
i
ter
ate,
conf
identandengagedci
ti
zenswho
cant
hinkcr
it
ical
l
y.

47
135.Toov
ercomet
hischal
l
enge,Gov
ernmentwi
l
lal
sor
edef
ine
basi
c educat
ion t
oincl
ude secondar
y educat
ion,cov
eri
ng
t
echni
cal
,vocat
ional
andagr
icul
tur
aleducat
ion.

136.As par
t of t
hisi
nit
iat
ive,Basi
c Educat
ion Cer
ti
fi
cat
e
Exami
nat
ions(
BECE)wi
l
lbeusedasat
oolf
orpl
acementof
st
udent
sint
osecondcy
cleschool
sandnotf
orcer
ti
fi
cat
ion.

137.Toi
mpr
ovet
hequal
i
tyandr
elev
anceofeducat
ion,and
f
urt
hermaket
hepr
oduct
sofourschoolsy
stem compet
it
ive,
Gov
ernmentwi
l
lrev
iew t
heBasi
clev
elcur
ri
cul
um t
ofocuson
t
hef
ourR
s(Readi
ng,wRi
ti
ng,aRi
thmet
icandRecr
eat
iont
o
i
ncl
udel
i
feski
l
lsandcr
eat
iveski
l
ls)
.Gov
ernmenti
ntendst
o
ensur
ethatal
lourchi
l
drenhav
ethesebasi
cski
l
lswhent
hey
exi
tthePr
imar
ySchool
syst
em.

HEALTH
138.Theheal
thsect
orcont
inuest
ogr
appl
ewi
tht
hechal
l
enge
ofbr
idgi
ngt
heequi
tygapi
naccesst
oheal
thcar
ebet
ween
ur
banandr
uralaswel
last
her
ichandpoor
,pr
oduct
ionand
di
str
ibut
ionofheal
thper
sonnel
,hi
ghunderf
iveandmat
ernal
mor
tal
i
tyr
atesand negl
ectoft
hement
alheal
th subsect
or
r
esul
ti
ngi
nhugeunmetneedf
orment
alheal
thser
vices.

48
139.I
n2017t
her
ewi
l
lbei
mpr
ovedcov
erageofant
enat
alcar
e
ser
vices and del
i
ver
ybyski
l
led at
tendant
sis expect
ed t
o
i
ncr
easef
rom t
he2016t
arget
sof78per
centand53per
centt
o
80per
centand55per
cent
,respect
ivel
y.Thet
argetf
orf
ull
y
i
mmuni
zedchi
l
drenwi
l
lbemai
ntai
nedatabov
e90per
centi
n
2017.

GENDERANDSOCI
ALPROTECTI
ON

140.GenderandSoci
alPr
otect
ion
Mr
.Speaker
,fol
l
owi
ng t
he concl
usi
on of t
he Mi
l
lenni
um
Dev
elopmentGoal
s(MDGs)i
n2015,Ghanaj
oinedt
hewor
ldi
n
dev
elopi
ngt
heSust
ainabl
eDev
elopmentGoal
s(SDGs)whi
ch
wasendor
sedbyt
heUni
tedNat
ionsati
ts70t
hsessi
oni
n
Sept
ember
,2015.TheSDGsi
sadopt
edgl
obal
l
ytoendpov
ert
y,
pr
otectt
hepl
anetandensur
epr
osper
it
yforal
l
.
I
nor
dert
ofi
ghtext
remepov
ert
yandv
ulner
abi
l
iti
esandensur
e
t
hat no gr
oup i
s di
sadv
ant
aged and l
eft behi
nd i
nthe
dev
elopmentpr
ocess,
gov
ernmenti
scommi
tt
edt
oimpr
oveon
soci
alpr
otect
ionpol
i
cyi
mpl
ement
ati
onandsy
stems.
TheMi
nist
ryofGender
,Chi
l
dren and Soci
alPr
otect
ion wi
l
l
f
aci
l
itat
ethepassageoft
heAf
fi
rmat
iveAct
ionBi
l
landt
he
Domest
icWor
ker
sBi
l
ls.Wewi
l
lref
ocust
heLEAPpr
ogr
amme
and adopt ef
fect
ive means of t
arget
ing and enr
oll
i
ng

49
 benef
ici
aryhousehol
ds.TheSchoolFeedi
ngPr
ogr
ammewi
l
l
al
sober
evi
ewedt
omakei
tmor
etr
anspar
entandef
fect
ive
and
l
inkedt
otheagr
icul
tur
esect
ori
nit
iat
ives.

YOUTHANDSPORTSDEVELOPMENT
141.Mr
.Speaker
,the y
out
h wi
l
ldr
ivet
he di
scov
eryofnew
t
echnol
ogi
es,i
nnov
ati
onandgr
owt
hint
hef
utur
e.Ourf
ocus
ov
ert
hemedi
um t
ermi
stocr
eat
eanenabl
i
ngenv
ironmentt
o
bui
l
dthecapaci
tyofoury
out
htot
akeonmor
eact
iver
olesi
n
ourcount
ry
sfut
ureandi
tsdev
elopment
.Anumberofpol
i
cy
i
nit
iat
iveswear
erol
l
ingoutar
etar
get
edatt
hey
out
h.

142.I
nthear
eaofspor
tsdev
elopmentf
easi
bil
i
tyst
udi
eswi
l
lbe
compl
eted t
ofaci
l
itat
ethe expansi
on oft
he i
nfr
ast
ruct
ure
st
ockandt
ransf
ormt
heNat
ionalSpor
tsCol
l
egei
ntoaCent
re
of Excel
l
ence,t
hrough Publ
i
c Pr
ivat
e Par
tner
shi
p (
PPP)
ar
rangement
s.Addi
ti
onalef
for
tswi
l
lbemadet
osuppor
tot
her
di
sci
pli
nesst
art
ingf
rom ourschool
.

SECTI
ONSI
X:POLI
CYI
NITI
ATI
VES

143.Mr
.Speaker
,despi
te t
he maj
or macr
oeconomi
c and
st
ruct
uralchal
l
engeswef
aceasanat
ion,webel
i
evet
hatwi
th
t
heappr
opr
iat
epol
i
cyi
nter
vent
ions,wewi
l
lsett
hest
agef
or
50
 j
ob-
creat
ionoppor
tuni
ti
es,easehar
dshi
psandsecur
eabr
ight
f
utur
efor our f
ami
l
ies,busi
nesses and i
ndust
ri
es. The
f
oll
owi
ng pol
i
cy i
nit
iat
ives ar
ether
efor
e desi
gned t
o hel
p
i
mpr
ovet
hebusi
nessenv
ironment
,inst
il
lfi
scaldi
sci
pli
neand
pr
omot
einv
est
menti
ncr
it
icali
nfr
ast
ruct
ureespeci
all
yinr
ural
anddepr
ivedcommuni
ti
es.

I
MPROVI
NGTHEBUSI
NESSENVI
RONMENT

TaxI
ncent
ives
144.Mr
.Speaker
,a number of t
ax measur
es hav
e been
i
ntr
oducedi
nrecenty
ear
sinanat
temptt
odealwi
thr
evenue
shor
tfal
l
s.Somehav
epr
ovent
obenui
sancet
axes.Theyhav
e
l
ow r
evenuey
iel
dingpot
ent
ialandatt
hesamet
imei
mpose
si
gni
fi
cantbur
denont
hepr
ivat
esect
orandont
heav
erage
Ghanai
an.Aspar
tofourcommi
tmentt
oreener
gizet
hepr
ivat
e
sect
or,Gov
ernmenthas deci
ded t
orev
iew t
hese t
axes t
o
pr
ovi
der
eli
eff
orbusi
nesses.Thef
oll
owi
ngspeci
fi
cmeasur
es
shal
lbei
mpl
ement
edi
ntheshor
ttomedi
um t
erm:
abol
i
sht
he1per
centSpeci
alI
mpor
tLev
y;
abol
i
sht
he17.
5per
centVAT/
NHI
Lonf
inanci
alser
vices;
abol
i
sht
he17.
5per
centVAT/
NHI
Lonsel
ect
edi
mpor
ted
medi
ci
nes,
thatar
enotpr
oducedl
ocal
l
y;
i
nit
iat
est
epst
oremov
eimpor
tdut
iesonr
awmat
eri
alsand

51
 machi
ner
yforpr
oduct
ionwi
thi
nthecont
extoft
heECOWAS
CommonExt
ernal
Tar
if
f(CET)Pr
otocol
;
abol
i
sh t
he 17.
5 per
centVAT/
NHI
L on domest
icai
rl
ine
t
icket
s;
abol
i
sht
he5per
centVAT/
NHI
LonReal
Est
atesal
es;
abol
i
shexci
sedut
yonpet
rol
eum;
r
educespeci
alpet
rol
eum t
axr
atef
rom 17.
5per
centt
o15
per
cent
;
abol
i
shdut
yont
hei
mpor
tat
ionofspar
epar
ts;
abol
i
shl
evi
esi
mposedonkay
ayei
byl
ocal
aut
hor
it
ies;
exempt f
rom t
axat
ion,t
he gai
ns f
rom r
eal
i
zat
ion of
secur
it
iesl
i
stedont
heGhanaSt
ockExchangeorpubl
i
cly
hel
d secur
it
iesappr
oved byt
heSecur
it
iesand Exchange
Commi
ssi
on(
SEC)
;
r
educeNat
ionalEl
ect
ri
fi
cat
ionSchemeLev
yfr
om 5per
cent
t
o3per
cent
;
r
educePubl
i
cLi
ght
ingLev
yfr
om 5per
centt
o2per
cent
;
r
epl
acet
he17.
5VAT/
NHI
Lrat
ewi
thaf
latr
ateof3per
cent
f
ort
rader
s;and
i
mpl
ementt
axcr
edi
tsandot
heri
ncent
ivesf
orbusi
nesses
t
hathi
rey
ounggr
aduat
es.

REVI
EW OFI
MPORTDUTYANDTAXEXEMPTI
ONS
145.Mr
.Speaker
,whi
l
eGov
ernment
sf
ocusi
sonr
educi
ngt
axes

52
t
oenhancepr
oduct
ion,wear
eal
sodet
ermi
nedt
otackl
ethe
sy
stemi
cabusei
ntheexempt
ionsr
egi
me.Ther
eshal
lbea
compr
ehensi
ve r
evi
ew of t
he r
egi
me on i
mpor
t dut
y
exempt
ionsandt
axr
eli
efswi
thav
iew t
oel
i
minat
ingabuses
andi
mpr
ovi
ngef
fi
ci
encyi
ntheappl
i
cat
ionsoft
hesei
ncent
ives.
Tot
hisend,t
her
evi
ewwi
l
lcov
er,amongot
her
s,t
hef
oll
owi
ng
exempt
ionsandt
axr
eli
efsasamat
terofur
gency
:
i
mpor
tdut
ies,t
axesandl
evi
espay
abl
ebyMDAsand
ot
hergov
ernmentdepar
tment
s;

i
mpor
tdut
ies and al
lfor
ms oft
axes and l
evi
es
pay
abl
ebybot
hdomest
icandf
orei
gncompani
es,suppl
i
ers
and cont
ract
orsexecut
ing pr
oject
sand cont
ract
sint
he
count
ry;

i
mpor
tdut
ies and al
lfor
ms oft
axes and l
evi
es
pay
abl
ebyempl
oyees,
dir
ect
orsandseni
orof
fi
cial
sofbot
h
domest
icandf
orei
gncompani
es,suppl
i
ersandcont
ract
ors
execut
ingpr
oject
sint
hecount
ry;

i
mpor
tdut
ies and al
lfor
ms oft
axes and l
evi
es
pay
abl
e by bot
h domest
ic and f
orei
gn compani
es and
i
nvest
orsdoi
ngbusi
nessi
nthecount
ry;
and
i
mpor
tdut
ies and al
lfor
ms oft
axes and l
evi
es
pay
abl
ebynon-
gov
ernment
alandchar
it
yor
gani
sat
ions.

53
 146.Mr
.Speaker
,as at
ransi
ti
on ar
rangement
,hencef
ort
h,
appl
i
cant
sfort
hesei
mpor
tdut
yexempt
ionsandt
axr
eli
efs
shal
lber
equi
redt
o,excepti
nexcept
ionalci
rcumst
ancest
obe
det
ermi
nedbyt
heMi
nist
erf
orFi
nance,payf
ull
yal
lappl
i
cabl
e
i
mpor
tdut
iesandt
axes,
andappl
ywi
thj
ust
if
icat
ionf
orr
efund.

LOCALCONTENT
147.Gover
nmentbel
i
eves i
n empower
ing t
he l
ocalpr
ivat
e
sect
orandwi
l
lpassl
egi
sl
ati
ont
orequi
ret
hatov
ert
ime,at
l
east70per
centofal
lgov
ernmentpr
oject
sandpr
ocur
ement
ar
eexecut
edbyl
ocalcor
por
ati
onsandent
erpr
ises,wi
thset
asi
desf
orent
it
iesownedbywomen,per
sonswi
thdi
sabi
l
ity
,
andt
hoseest
abl
i
shedundert
heYout
hEnt
erpr
iseFund(
YEP)
,
amongot
heri
nit
iat
ives.

148.Gover
nmentwi
l
lint
roduce and enf
orce a l
ocalcont
ent
pol
i
cy,
forgov
ernmentpr
oject
sandpr
ocur
ementt
hatwi
l
lfocus
onj
obcr
eat
ionandl
ocal
val
ueaddi
ti
on,
wit
hemphasi
sonski
l
ls
i
mpr
ovement
. To ensur
e t
he success of t
his pol
i
cy,
Gov
ernmentwi
l
lrequi
re,among ot
hert
hings,a j
ob i
mpact
anal
ysi
sofal
lqual
i
fyi
ngpr
oject
sthatmustdemonst
rat
ecl
ear
ly,
posi
ti
vej
obcr
eat
ionwi
thski
l
lsi
mpr
ovement
,andot
herl
ocal
v
alueaddi
ti
ont
hatmustpassesst
ri
ctcr
it
eri
aest
abl
i
shedby
gov
ernment
.LI2204,whi
chwaspassedi
n2013t
omaxi
mize
54
 v
alueaddi
ti
onandj
obcr
eat
iont
hroughl
ocalv
alueaddi
ti
on,
wil
l
beexpandedandl
egi
slat
edasl
ocalcount
rycont
entf
ort
he
count
ry.

JobI
mpactAnal
ysi
s
149.I
nthepusht
owar
dsj
obcr
eat
ionandski
l
lsdev
elopment
,
Gov
ernmentwi
l
lint
roduceamandat
oryj
obi
mpactassessment
f
or al
l publ
i
c-sect
or pr
oject
s or i
nit
iat
ives. Job i
mpact
assessmentwi
l
lal
sober
equi
redofpr
ivat
e-sect
orent
it
iest
hat
accessgov
ernmentpr
oject
sorcont
ract
s.I
not
herwor
ds,al
l
publ
i
c-sect
orpr
oject
swhet
heri
tisexecut
ed byt
hepubl
i
c-
sect
orort
hepr
ivat
e-sect
orcont
ract
orsmustunder
goaj
ob
i
mpactassessmentt
o ev
aluat
ethe pot
ent
ialj
ob cr
eat
ion
i
mpact
.Thi
swi
l
lenabl
eGov
ernmentt
oanal
yzehow v
ari
ous
j
obsar
ebei
ngcr
eat
edsoast
obet
terst
ruct
urei
ncent
ivesand
st
imul
iforhi
gherski
l
ljobsandoppor
tuni
ti
esf
orGhanai
ans.

Banki
ngSect
orI
nit
iat
ives
150.Mr
.Speaker
,bankspl
ayani
mpor
tantr
olei
noureconomy
.
Despi
tepasti
nter
vent
ions,t
hebanki
ngsect
orst
il
lfacesmaj
or
chal
l
enges.Wear
ecommi
tt
edt
owor
kingwi
tht
hef
inanci
al
sect
ort
oresol
vet
hesechal
l
enges.A st
rong pr
ivat
esect
or
cr
edi
tgr
owt
his needed t
o suppor
tourmedi
um-
ter
m GDP
gr
owt
htoi
ncr
easepr
oduct
ivi
tyandcr
eat
ejobs.

55
151.Wewi
l
lhar
moni
zeandst
reaml
i
nesomeoft
heexi
sti
ng
pol
i
ciest
omaket
hesect
ormor
eef
fi
cient
.Pol
i
cyi
nter
vent
ions
wi
l
lfocusoni
mpr
ovi
ngl
i
qui
dit
yforbankst
hrought
hepay
ment
ofSOEr
elat
eddebtduebanksov
ert
heshor
ttomedi
um-
ter
m
i
nli
newi
thourdebtsust
ainabi
l
ityf
ramewor
k.

152.Speci
fi
cmeasur
est
o be i
mpl
ement
ed i
n 2017 and t
he
medi
um t
ermi
ncl
ude:
st
reaml
i
net
heEner
gySect
orLev
yAct
,2015 (
Act899,
)
(
ESLA)t
oaccommodat
eal
ltheexi
sti
ngl
egacydebt
sfort
he
banki
ngandt
hepr
ivat
esect
or,whi
chi
ncl
udeener
gysect
or
debt
,Bul
kDi
str
ibut
ionCompani
es(
BDCs)
,andot
herener
gy
sect
orr
elat
eddebt
s;
ensur
ethatr
evenuest
reamsf
rom ESLAar
epr
oper
lyused
t
oensur
ecer
tai
ntyofcashf
low f
ort
hepay
ment
sofal
l
cor
respondi
ngdebt
s;and
wor
kwi
thcommer
cialbankst
oensur
ethatt
heyar
eabl
eto
i
ssuebondsont
hebackoft
hest
reaml
i
nedESLAr
evenuef
or
i
mmedi
atel
i
qui
dit
y.

153.I
n addi
ti
on,t
he Bank ofGhana i
n col
l
abor
ati
on wi
th
Gov
ernment
,wi
l
lunder
taket
hef
oll
owi
ngst
ruct
uralr
efor
mst
o
t
hebanki
ngsect
or:
I
ncr
ease t
he banki
ng i
ndust
ry
s mi
nimum capi
tal

56
 r
equi
rement
sandst
rengt
hent
hel
i
censi
ngandr
egul
ator
y
f
ramewor
k.
I
ntr
oducer
iskcapi
talr
equi
rement
sinaddi
ti
ont
omi
nimum
capi
tal
requi
rement
sforbanks;
St
rengt
hen cor
por
ategov
ernancebyenf
orci
ng t
het
erm
l
i
mit
sfor Boar
d Chai
rmen and Managi
ng Di
rect
ors of
commer
cial
banksi
naccor
dancewi
tht
heBanki
ngAct
;
Enhanceenf
orcementofsi
ngl
eobl
i
gorl
i
mitf
orcommer
cial
banks;
and
suppor
tmobi
l
emoneyandmobi
l
ebanki
ngbusi
nessest
o
enhanceandexpandf
inanci
ali
ncl
usi
on.

154.We bel
i
evet
hatal
lthese measur
es wi
l
lhel
p mi
nimi
ze
sy
stemi
cri
sksi
nthebanki
ng.

Capi
talMar
ketDev
elopmentI
nit
iat
ives
155.Mr
.Speaker
,the gr
owt
h ofGhana
s capi
talmar
keti
s
i
mpeded by l
ack ofdept
h and l
i
qui
dit
y.Addr
essi
ng t
hese
chal
l
engesr
equi
ret
hei
mpl
ement
ati
onofdeci
siv
emeasur
esi
n
t
he shor
tto medi
um t
erm t
o deepen t
he capi
talmar
ket
s,
i
ncr
easel
i
qui
dit
yandt
radi
ngact
ivi
ti
esandencour
agemor
e
compani
est
oli
st.

156.The speci
fi
c measur
es t
o be i
mpl
ement
ed t
oimpr
ove

57
capi
talmar
ketper
for
mancei
n2017andt
hemedi
um t
erm,
i
ncl
udet
hef
oll
owi
ng:
exempt f
rom t
axat
ion,t
he gai
ns f
rom r
eal
i
zat
ion of
secur
it
iesl
i
stedont
heGhanaSt
ockExchangeorpubl
i
cly
hel
d secur
it
iesappr
oved byt
heSecur
it
iesand Exchange
Commi
ssi
on(
SEC)
;
exemptt
hef
inanci
alser
vicesi
ndust
ryf
rom st
ampdut
yfor
2y
ear
stoenabl
ether
e-capi
tal
i
zat
ionoft
hei
ndust
ryasper
t
henewSECl
aw;
encour
ageacapi
tal
mar
ketl
ocal
cont
entpol
i
cyt
hatenj
oins
compani
esoper
ati
ngi
ntheener
gy,oi
landgas,f
inanci
al
ser
vices,t
elecommuni
cat
ions,andmi
ningsect
orst
oli
sta
mi
nimum per
cent
ageoft
hei
rshar
esont
heGhanaSt
ock
Ex
changewi
thi
n5y
ear
sofcommencementofoper
ati
ons;
and
Di
vestGov
ernment
shol
dingsi
nsomeSOEswi
thav
iewt
o
ensur
ingef
fi
ciency
.Thi
swi
l
lincl
udet
hesal
eofgov
ernment
shar
esi
nsomeSOEsandcompani
esv
iaal
i
sti
ngont
he
GhanaSt
ockExchange.
Wewi
l
lwor
kwi
tht
heSecur
it
iesandExchangeCommi
ssi
on
(
SEC)t
o dev
elopt
her
egul
ati
onsgov
erni
ngAsset
-backed
i
nst
rument
sincl
udi
ngRealEst
ateI
nvest
mentTr
ust
s(REI
T)
andmor
tgage-
backedsecur
it
iesandenabl
ethepensi
ons
i
ndust
ryt
osuppor
tthedev
elopmentoft
heseasset
scl
asses

58
 andot
heral
ter
nat
ivei
nvest
mentschemes.

157.MrSpeaker
,t
heNat
ionalPensi
onsRegul
ator
yAut
hor
it
y
(
NPRA)wi
l
lbemov
edbackt
obeundert
heMi
nist
ryofFi
nance
andt
heMi
nist
ryofEmpl
oymentandLabourRel
ati
ons.Thi
sis
because,j
ustl
i
ket
heSEC,t
heNPRA i
saf
inanci
alser
vice
r
egul
atorbutoft
hepensi
onsi
ndust
ryt
hatal
sodeal
swi
thal
ot
ofLabouri
ssues.Pensi
onsar
eaboutf
inance:

Fi
nanci
alcont
ri
but
ions;
Fi
nanci
ali
nvest
ment
s;and
Benef
itpay
out
.

158.Al
ltheabov
ear
efi
nanci
aldeci
sionsaf
fect
ingempl
oyees
hencet
hedeci
siont
ohav
ejoi
ntov
ersi
ghtbyt
het
womi
nist
ri
es.
Addi
ti
onal
l
y,NPRAwi
l
lbecompl
etel
yweanedof
fin2017.

Bui
ldi
nganEnt
repr
eneur
ial
Nat
ion
159.Mr
. Speaker
,thi
s gov
ernment seeks t
o bui
l
d an
ent
repr
eneur
ialnat
ion.The Nat
ionalEnt
repr
eneur
shi
p and
I
nnov
ati
onPl
an(
NEI
P)i
saf
lagshi
pini
ti
ati
vewhi
chwi
l
lbet
he
pr
imar
yvehi
cl
eforpr
ovi
dingani
ntegr
ated,suppor
tforear
ly-
st
age (
star
t-
ups and smal
l
) busi
nesses,f
ocusi
ng on t
he
pr
ovi
si
on of busi
ness dev
elopment ser
vices, busi
ness
i
ncubat
ors,
andf
undi
ngf
ory
out
h-ownedbusi
nesses.

59
160.TheNEI
Pwi
l
lenabl
equal
i
fiednew busi
nessest
oemer
ge
andgi
vet
hem t
hespacet
ogr
ow,posi
ti
ont
hem t
oat
tract
f
inanci
ng,
andpr
ovi
debusi
nessdev
elopmentsuppor
tser
vices.
Thepr
ogr
ammewi
l
lassi
stt
hesebusi
nessest
osecur
emar
ket
s
dur
ingt
hecr
it
icalf
ormat
ivey
ear
s,andt
api
ntoawi
desuppl
y
chai
nandnet
wor
kdur
ingt
hei
rgr
owt
hyear
s.

Nat
ional
Indust
ri
alRev
ital
izat
ionPr
ogr
ammeASt
imul
us
Packagef
orI
ndust
ry
161.Gr
owt
hint
he i
ndust
ri
aland manuf
act
uri
ng sect
orhas
si
gni
fi
cant
ly decl
i
ned ov
er t
ime, cont
ri
but
ing t
o an
unpr
ecedent
edl
evelofunempl
oyment
.Thi
ssi
tuat
ioncoul
dbe
at
tri
but
edt
oav
ari
etyoff
act
orsi
ncl
udi
ng,
butnotl
i
mit
edt
othe
hi
ghcostofcapi
tal
;li
mit
edaccesst
omedi
um t
olongt
erm
f
inanci
ng;hi
ghcostofel
ect
ri
cit
yandunr
eli
abl
epowersuppl
y;
l
i
mit
edaccesst
olandf
ori
ndust
ri
alact
ivi
tyaswel
lasweak
l
ogi
sti
candi
nfr
ast
ruct
uresuppor
tfori
ndust
ri
aldev
elopment
.

162.I
tis agai
nstt
his backgr
ound t
hata Nat
ionalI
ndust
ri
al
Rev
ital
i
zat
ionPr
ogr
ammewi
thast
imul
uspackagef
ori
ndust
ry
wi
l
lbeest
abl
i
shedt
opr
ovi
det
echni
calandf
inanci
alsuppor
tto
exi
sti
ngcompani
est
hatar
ecur
rent
lydi
str
essedorar
efaci
ng
oper
ati
onalchal
l
enges,butar
edeemedt
obev
iabl
etobenef
it

60
f
rom t
hest
imul
uspackagewhi
chwi
l
lputt
hem i
noper
ati
oni
n
t
heshor
testpossi
blet
ime.

I
ndust
ri
ali
singGhanaf
rom t
heGr
oundUp:OneDi
str
ict
,One
Fact
ory
163.
OneDi
str
ict
,OneFact
ory
,i
mpl
ement
ati
onofwhi
chwi
l
l
commence t
hisy
earand be cl
osel
yint
ert
wined wi
th our

Nat
ionalI
ndust
ri
alRev
ital
i
zat
ionPr
ogr
amme
,isdesi
gnedas
acompr
ehensi
vepr
ogr
ammef
orr
urali
ndust
ri
ali
sat
ion,dr
iven
byt
hepr
ivat
esect
orandi
nvol
vi
ngt
heset
ti
ngupofatl
eastone
medi
um t
olar
gescal
efact
oryi
neachoft
headmi
nist
rat
ive
di
str
ict
sofGhana.

164.I
tis ai
med at cr
eat
ing massi
vey
out
h empl
oyment
,
especi
all
yinr
uralandper
i-
urbancommuni
ti
es,
addv
aluet
othe
nat
uralr
esour
cesofeach di
str
ict
,ensur
eev
en and spat
ial
spr
eadofi
ndust
ri
est
ost
imul
ateeconomi
cact
ivi
tyi
ndi
ff
erent
par
ts of t
he count
ry,enhance t
he pr
oduct
ion of l
ocal
subst
it
utes f
ori
mpor
ted goods,and pr
omot
e expor
ts and
i
ncr
easef
orei
gnexchangeear
nings.

165.I
thast
hepot
ent
ialoft
ransf
ormi
ngt
hei
ndust
ri
all
andscape
of Ghana,and wi
l
lcont
ri
but
e si
gni
fi
cant
lyt
othe soci
o-
economi
cdev
elopmentagendaoft
hecount
ry.Weest
imat
e
t
hatov
er350,
000di
rectandi
ndi
rectj
obswoul
dbecr
eat
ed
61
f
rom al
lpar
tsoft
hecount
ry,asar
esul
toft
hei
mpl
ement
ati
on
oft
hepr
ogr
amme.

Nat
ional
Ident
if
icat
ionPr
ogr
amme
166.Mr
.Speaker
,thebenef
it
sofhav
ingamoder
n,r
eli
abl
eand
uni
que nat
ionali
dent
if
icat
ion sy
stem ar
e enor
mous and
i
mper
ati
vef
or t
he dev
elopmentof our nat
ion.A r
obust
i
dent
if
icat
ionsy
stem andt
hei
ssuanceanduseofi
ntegr
ated,
mul
ti
pur
posenat
ionali
dent
if
icat
ioncar
dswoul
denabl
eust
o
adv
anceeconomi
c,ci
vi
candsoci
alact
ivi
ti
esi
nGhanaandt
o
t
argetpar
ti
cul
ardev
elopment
alpr
ogr
ams.

167.I
tisagai
nstt
hisbackgr
oundt
hatt
heNat
ionalI
dent
if
icat
ion
Aut
hor
it
y(NI
A) was est
abl
i
shed i
n 2007 t
o ov
ersee t
he
r
egi
str
ati
onofal
lresi
dent
sinGhana.Howev
er,adecadel
ater
,
t
he NI
A has made l
i
mit
ed pr
ogr
ess.I
n consonance wi
th
Gov
ernment
scommi
tmentt
oreener
giset
heNI
Atof
ulf
ili
ts
st
atut
orymandat
e,t
he new l
eader
shi
p oft
he NI
A wi
l
lbe
suppor
tedandr
esour
cedt
obemor
eef
fect
ive.

168.Gover
nmenthascommencedst
akehol
derconsul
tat
ionst
o
r
evi
veandr
oll
-outt
heNat
ionalI
dent
if
icat
ionSchemei
n2017.
Al
lregi
ster
ed per
sons wi
l
l be pr
ovi
ded wi
th a Uni
que
I
dent
if
icat
ionNumber
,andanI
DCar
d.Subsequent
ly,
anat
ional

62
I
DCar
dshal
lber
equi
redf
ort
hepr
ovi
sionandef
fi
cientdel
i
ver
y
ofpubl
i
c and pr
ivat
e ser
vices,i
ncl
udi
ng f
inanci
alser
vices,
mobi
l
e banki
ng,m-
commer
ce,soci
alsaf
ety net
s,heal
th
i
nsur
ance,
andr
evenuecol
l
ect
ionamongot
her
s.

Nat
ional
Digi
tal
Addr
essi
ngSy
stem
169.MrSpeaker
,thel
astt
imet
hewhol
ecount
rywasmapped
wasi
n1974.Thel
ackofmoder
npr
oper
tyaddr
essi
ngsy
stem i
n
Ghanai
saser
iousi
mpedi
mentt
oourdev
elopment
alagenda.
Aspar
tofourpl
anst
oenhanceeconomi
cdev
elopmentand
gr
owt
h,Gov
ernmenthascommencedst
akehol
derconsul
tat
ion
t
o dev
elop and i
mpl
ement a Nat
ional Di
git
al Pr
oper
ty
Addr
essi
ngSy
stem f
ort
hecount
ryi
n2017.

170.Theai
m oft
heNat
ionalPr
oper
tyAddr
essi
ngSy
stem i
sto
hav
edi
git
aladdr
essesf
orpar
cel
sofl
andandpr
oper
ti
esoft
he
ent
ir
ecount
ry.Ev
eryl
andorpr
oper
tywi
l
lbeassi
gnedauni
que
i
dent
if
ier
.Thi
sisai
medatf
aci
l
itat
ingi
mpr
ovedowner
shi
pdat
a
anduni
quei
dent
if
icat
ionofpr
oper
ti
es.Apr
operaddr
essi
ngof
pr
oper
ti
es wi
l
l ensur
e ef
fi
ci
ent del
i
ver
y of ser
vices f
or
economi
cdev
elopment
.

63
E-
Ser
vicesPor
tal
171.I
n or
dert
oimpr
ove ef
fi
ciency ofser
vice del
i
ver
y by
gov
ernmenti
nst
it
uti
onswi
thr
egar
dtoacqui
sit
ionofl
i
censes
and pay
mentf
orser
vices,Gov
ernmentest
abl
i
shed t
he e-
ser
vicespor
tal(
htt
p:/
/www.
eser
vices.
gov
.gh/
)in 2012.Thi
s
pl
atf
orm hashel
pedi
nthedel
i
ver
yofgov
ernmentser
vices
(
li
censesandper
mit
s,et
c.)
.Gov
ernmentwi
l
lexpandcov
erage
t
oal
lpar
tsoft
hecount
ryandi
mpr
oveef
fi
ciencyofser
vice
del
i
ver
ythr
oughpr
ivat
esect
orpar
ti
cipat
ioni
nthee-
ser
vices
por
tal
.Thi
sisexpect
edt
ohel
preducecor
rupt
ion,pr
omot
e
compl
i
anceandi
mpr
ovet
het
racki
ngofgov
ernmentr
esour
ces.

EXPENDI
TUREMANAGEMENTANDCOMMI
TMENTCONTROL
172.Mr
.Speaker
,ourcount
rycont
inuest
ogr
appl
ewi
thweak
expendi
tur
emanagementandbudget
arycont
rol
sleadi
ngt
o
excessi
veexpendi
tur
eov
err
unsandpay
mentar
rear
sresul
ti
ng
i
nper
sist
entf
iscaldef
ici
t.Pr
udentexpendi
tur
emanagement
andcommi
tmentcont
rol
sar
e,t
her
efor
e,v
erycr
uci
ali
nor
dert
o
achi
evet
hegoal
sandobj
ect
ivesoft
hebudget
.

Enf
orcementoft
hePFMA
173.Mr
.Speaker
,thePubl
i
cFi
nanci
alManagementAct
,Act921,
passedbyPar
li
amentandenact
edi
ntol
awi
nAugust2016has
t
he sol
e obj
ect
ive t
o st
rengt
hen t
he publ
i
c f
inanci
al
managementsy
stem i
nthecount
ry.TheActr
egul
atest
he
64
f
inanci
almanagementoft
he publ
i
c sect
orwi
thi
n a sound
macr
oeconomi
c and f
iscal f
ramewor
k; def
ines t
he
r
esponsi
bil
i
tiesofper
sonsent
rust
edwi
tht
hemanagementand
cont
rolofpubl
i
cfunds,asset
s,l
i
abi
l
iti
esandr
esour
cesi
na
mannerconsi
stentwi
tht
hel
evel
ofpubl
i
cdebt
;pr
ovi
desf
ort
he
account
ingandaudi
tofpubl
i
cfunds;andpr
ovi
desf
ormor
e
r
obustsanct
ionsandpenal
ti
es.

174.Theef
fect
ivenessoft
hel
aw dependst
oal
argeext
enton
st
rongenf
orcementandcompl
i
ancewi
thi
tssanct
ionsr
egi
me.
Gov
ernmentwi
l
lensur
ethatt
he r
obustsanct
ions r
egi
me
pr
ovi
dedf
ori
nthel
awi
scompl
i
edwi
thbyal
lPubl
i
cInst
it
uti
ons.
Ther
equi
redi
nst
it
uti
onalar
rangement
s,i
ncl
udi
ngf
unct
ional
i
ndependentAudi
tCommi
tt
ees,wi
l
lbeaddr
essedt
opr
omot
e
andenhancet
heef
fect
ivenessoft
hel
aw.

175.Mr
. Speaker
,in addi
ti
on t
o t
he assi
gnment of
r
esponsi
bil
i
tiesandenf
orcementofsanct
ions,t
wopr
ovi
sions
ar
ecr
uci
alf
ort
heef
fect
ivei
mpl
ement
ati
onoft
hel
aw.Fi
rst
,is
t
heCommi
tmentCont
rolpr
ovi
sionst
o cur
bthebui
l
d-upof
expendi
tur
ear
rear
s. Second,i
sthepr
ovi
sionst
hatpr
ohi
bit
MDAs f
rom ent
eri
ng i
nto agr
eement
s wi
th f
inanci
al
commi
tment
sthat bi
nd Gov
ernment f
or mor
ethan one
f
inanci
aly
earort
hatr
esul
tsi
n cont
ingentl
i
abi
l
ity
,unl
ess
appr
oved by t
he Mi
nist
er of Fi
nance and aut
hor
ized by
65
Par
li
ament
.Thesewemustst
ri
ctl
yadher
etoi
fwear
eto
ensur
esoundpubl
i
cfi
nanci
almanagement
.

176.Tof
ull
yoper
ati
onal
i
zet
hel
awt
oenhancebudgetcr
edi
bil
i
ty,
Gov
ernmentwi
l
lensur
ethe i
ntr
oduct
ion oft
he necessar
y
r
egul
ati
ons t
o suppor
timpl
ement
ati
on of t
he l
aw, i
n
col
l
abor
ati
on wi
th PFM st
akehol
der
s f
or ef
fect
ive
i
mpl
ement
ati
onoft
heAct
.Gov
ernmentt
hrought
heMi
nist
ryof
Fi
nance wi
l
l st
rengt
hen ov
ersi
ght of SOEs and Publ
i
c
Cor
por
ati
ons,aswel
las,LocalGov
ernment
,tohel
pmi
ti
gat
e
f
iscal
riskemanat
ingf
rom cont
ingentl
i
abi
l
iti
es.

177.Mr
.Speaker
,tof
aci
l
itat
eadher
encet
othepr
ovi
sionsoft
he
l
aw, t
he Mi
nist
ry wi
l
l cont
inue wi
th t
he sensi
ti
zat
ion
pr
ogr
amme f
orPubl
i
cInst
it
uti
onsatt
he Nat
ionaland Sub
Nat
ionall
evel
saswel
lasf
orkeySt
akehol
der
sincl
udi
ngCSOs,
medi
a,pr
ofessi
onal
bodi
esandt
hepubl
i
catl
arge.

Est
abl
ishmentoft
heFi
scalCounci
l
178.Ghanahasbeen f
aced wi
th si
gni
fi
cant
,long-
ter
m f
iscal
sl
i
ppagesandanescal
ati
ngpubl
i
cdebtst
ockl
eadi
ngt
oahi
gh
r
iskofdebtdi
str
ess.Thi
sispr
inci
pal
l
yduet
othef
actt
hatour
f
iscalpol
i
cyi
mpl
ement
ati
onl
acksat
ranspar
enti
nst
it
uti
onal
ar
rangementf
orpr
ovi
ding qual
i
tyf
iscali
nfor
mat
ion t
othe
publ
i
c, a mechani
sm f
or ensur
ing account
abi
l
ity i
n
66
i
mpl
ement
ingopt
imalf
iscalpol
i
ciest
oguar
ant
eet
hest
abi
l
ity
oft
hesy
stem,andani
nst
it
uti
ont
oensur
ethecr
edi
bil
i
tyof
f
iscal
proj
ect
ionspr
ovi
dedbyt
heGov
ernment
.

179.To addr
ess t
his,Gov
ernmentwi
l
lini
ti
atet
he pr
ocess
t
owar
dst
heest
abl
i
shmentofaFi
scalCounci
lthatwi
l
ladopt
andi
mpl
ementr
ulest
oanchorf
iscalpol
i
cyi
mpl
ement
ati
on.
The Fi
scalCounci
lwi
l
lcont
ri
but
etot
he account
abi
l
ity of
Gov
ernment
,responsi
blef
orset
ti
ng up medi
um-
ter
m f
iscal
pol
i
cy anchor
sto gui
de f
iscalpol
i
cy as wel
las moni
tor
compl
i
ance.Thepr
inci
palobj
ect
ivesf
ort
hef
ormat
ionoft
he
Fi
scal
Counci
lar
eto:
ensur
ethecr
edi
bil
i
tyofourf
iscal
proj
ect
ions,
setupmedi
um-
ter
m f
iscalpol
i
cyanchor
sto gui
de
f
iscal
pol
i
cy,
and
moni
torcompl
i
anceoff
iscal
pol
i
cyr
ules.

180.Legalbacki
ngwi
l
lbegi
vent
otheFi
scalCounci
lthr
oughan
amendmentoft
hePubl
i
cFi
nanci
alManagementAct
,2016
(
PFMA)
,Act921,t
oint
eral
i
acapt
ureal
ltheel
ement
sofa
f
iscal
responsi
bil
i
tyl
aw.

Re-
ali
gnmentofSt
atut
oryFunds
181.Mr
.Speaker
,ast
hePr
esi
dentnot
edi
nhi
sSt
ateoft
he

67
Nat
ionAddr he21stFebr
essont uar
y2016:

182.
[T]
her
eal
i
tyoft
hest
ateofGhana
spubl
i
cfi
nancest
oday
ar
equi
test
ark.Today
,asar
esul
tofpol
i
cychoi
ces,wef
ind
our
sel
ves i
n a si
tuat
ion wher
e Ghana
stot
alr
evenue i
s
consumedbyt
hreemai
nbudget
aryl
i
nes:wagesandsal
ari
es,
i
nter
estpay
ment
sandamor
ti
zat
ion,andst
atut
orypay
ment
s.
These t
hree i
tems al
one account f
or 99.
6 per
cent of
gov
ernmentr
evenue.Thi
s means t
hatany
thi
ng el
se t
hat
gov
ernmenthast
odoout
sideoft
hesel
i
nes,wi
l
lhav
etobe
f
inanced by bor
rowi
ng or ai
d.The per
sist
ent r
esor
tto
bor
rowi
ng f
or any addi
ti
onal expendi
tur
es t
o meet t
he
aspi
rat
ionsofourpeopl
eisal
sonotsust
ainabl
e.Wecannot
cont
inuet
hiswaywi
thourpubl
i
cfi
nances(
Stat
eoft
heNat
ion
Addr
ess,
2017)
.

183.I
ndeed,t
hispr
obl
em ofl
ackoff
iscalspacei
nthecur
rent
budget ar
chi
tect
ure and t
he pr
obl
ems associ
ated wi
th
ear
mar
kingwasr
ight
lyr
ecogni
zedbyt
heNDCGov
ernmenti
n
t
he2010,2011,2015and2016budgetst
atement
s.I
nthese
budgetst
atement
s,t
het
henMi
nist
ersf
orFi
nancenot
edt
he
f
oll
owi
ng:

Stat
utor
yfunds i
ntr
oduce ext
reme i
nfl
exi
bil
i
tyi
nthe
managementoft
he budget
,gi
vi
ng no r
oom f
orpol
i
cy

68
manoeuv
re.Gi
ven t
hei
mpor
tantsoci
ali
nter
vent
ionst
hat
need t
o be scal
ed up and/
ori
mpl
ement
ed,some key
gov
ernmentpr
ogr
ammeswi
l
lhav
etobeof
fl
oadedf
rom t
he
cor
ebudgett
othest
atut
oryf
unds,i
nor
dert
ocr
eat
espace
f
ort
he ut
il
isat
ion ofdi
scr
eti
onar
y expendi
tur
ein ot
her
pr
ior
it
yar
eas.
2010BudgetSt
atement
.

ov
er75per
centoft
het
otalwagebi
l
landt
heassoci
ated
i
ncr
easesr
esul
ti
ngf
rom t
heSi
ngl
eSpi
neSal
arySt
ruct
ure
goes t
o empl
oyees i
n onl
ythr
ee MDAs,namel
ythe
Educat
ion,
Heal
thandLocal
Gov
ernment
,whi
chi
roni
cal
l
yar
e
t
he v
erysect
ors wi
tht
he st
atut
oryf
unds t
hati
ntr
oduce
r
igi
dit
ies i
nthe budgetst
ruct
ure and l
eav
es no r
evenue
spacef
ort
hesust
ainabl
eimpl
ement
ati
onoft
heSi
ngl
eSpi
ne
Sal
arySt
ruct
ure.
-2011BudgetSt
atement
.

Mr.Speaker
,thenat
ionalbudgeti
sincr
easi
ngl
ybecomi
ng
i
nfl
exi
blet
omanageaswel
last
oaccommodat
eshocksand
changesi
ngov
ernmentpr
ior
it
ies.Thesear
emai
nlyduet
o
t
he ear
mar
king ofa huge componentoft
he budget
ary
r
esour
ces as st
atut
oryt
ransf
ersi
n addi
ti
on t
o exi
sti
ng
st
atut
oryl
i
abi
l
iti
es,
suchaswagesandsal
ari
es,
amor
ti
sat
ion,
andi
nter
estpay
ment
s.Mr
.Speaker
,int
hemedi
um t
erm,
gov
ernmentwi
l
lreal
i
gn expendi
tur
es undert
he St
atut
ory
Fundshi
ther
to bei
ng cat
ered f
orundert
heConsol
i
dat
ed
Fund.St
art
ingwi
tht
he2015Budgetandasat
ransi
ti
onal
ar
rangement
,gov
ernmentwi
l
lenhancet
headmi
nist
rat
ive
69
 pr
ocessf
oral
i
gni
ngst
atut
oryf
undexpendi
tur
est
onat
ional
pol
i
ciesandpr
ior
it
ies.
-2015BudgetSt
atement
.

To addr
esst
hei
ncr
easi
ng r
igi
dit
iesi
nthebudgett
hat
l
i
mit
s t
he r
oom f
or pol
i
cy manoeuv
re, Gov
ernment
announcedapol
i
cyofal
i
gni
ngt
hest
atut
oryandi
nter
nal
l
y
gener
atedf
undst
onat
ionalf
iscalgoal
sint
he2014Budget
.
Consequent
ly,i
n 2016, St
atut
ory Funds expendi
tur
es
t
otal
l
ingGH564.
6mi
l
li
onwi
l
lber
eal
i
gnedt
othecent
ral
Gov
ernmentbudget
.-2016BudgetSt
atement
.

184.I
n2016,t
ransf
erst
otheear
mar
kedf
undsconst
it
uted33.
5
per
centofnat
ionalr
evenue,upf
rom 28.
2per
centi
n2015.
Theser
igi
dit
iesmeant
hatgov
ernment
sabi
l
ityt
oshi
ftpubl
i
c
spendi
ngf
rom oneexpendi
tur
eli
net
oanot
heri
shi
nder
edev
en
wher
e cur
rent exi
genci
es r
equi
re gov
ernment t
o do so.
Consequent
ly,
ithasbecomedi
ff
icul
ttousepubl
i
cspendi
ngas
ani
nst
rumentt
orespondadequat
elyt
ochangi
ngpubl
i
cneeds.

185.Fur
ther
,thesei
ncr
easi
ngst
atut
oryr
igi
dit
ieshav
eli
mit
ed
ourf
lexi
bil
i
tyandi
mpededourabi
l
ityt
omeetourcommi
tment
s,
especi
all
ycapi
talexpendi
tur
e.Assuch,wecont
inuet
omi
ss
ourobl
i
gat
orydi
sbur
sement
stot
heSt
atut
oryFundsduet
o
wi
shest
oful
fi
lot
hercommi
tment
s.

186.Mr
.Speaker
,insum,wehav
ebeenunabl
e,asanat
ion,t
o
70
compl
ywi
thourst
atut
oryandbudgetr
equi
rement
sinr
espect
ofear
mar
kedf
undsbecauset
heyi
mposeunhel
pfulr
igi
dit
iesi
n
ourpubl
i
cexpendi
tur
eanddev
elopmentst
rat
egi
es.

187.Not
wit
hst
andi
ngt
her
ecogni
ti
onoft
heunder
lyi
ngpr
obl
em
wi
tht
hel
ackoff
lexi
bil
i
tyandspacei
nthebudgetasar
esul
tof
t
heear
mar
kingoff
unds,wehav
enott
ackl
edt
hepr
obl
em.
Af
termanyy
ear
soft
alki
ngabouti
t,t
hisbudgeti
sfi
nal
l
ygoi
ng
t
otackl
ethi
spr
obl
em.
188.Mr
.Speaker
,st
art
ingt
hisy
ear
,gov
ernmentwi
l
lpr
oposea
capof25per
centoft
axr
evenuet
oal
lEar
mar
kedFundsf
ort
he
appr
ovaloft
hisaugustHouse.Thecappi
ngoft
ransf
erst
o
Ear
mar
ked Funds t
o 25 per
centoft
ax r
evenues i
n any
par
ti
cul
ary
earwi
l
lal
l
ow ar
eal
i
gnmentofbudgetr
evenuest
o
gov
ernmentpr
ior
it
ies and i
nfactmake possi
blei
ncr
eased
expendi
tur
eongov
ernmentpr
ior
it
iessuchaseducat
ion,
heal
th,
agr
icul
tur
e and i
nfr
ast
ruct
ure. Howev
er, we wi
l
l make
adj
ust
mentf
orconst
it
uti
onal
l
y-mandat
edear
mar
kedf
undst
o
maket
hem whol
e.

Tr
easur
yandRi
skmanagement
189.Mr
.Speaker
,ef
fi
cientbudgeti
mpl
ement
ati
on r
equi
resa
pr
operal
i
gnmentofcash i
nfl
ows and out
fl
ows.Thi
s wi
l
l
i
mpr
ovet
hepr
edi
ctabi
l
ityofbudgeti
mpl
ement
ati
onsandcash

71
al
l
ocat
ions.I
nli
newi
tht
his,Gov
ernmentwi
l
lst
rengt
heni
ts
t
reasur
y management f
unct
ions by cr
eat
ing a Tr
easur
y
ManagementUni
tint
he Mi
nist
ryofFi
nance t
o handl
e al
l
t
reasur
ymanagementandr
elat
edf
unct
ions.

190.Thecur
rentPFM l
aw wi
l
lbeenf
orcedwi
thr
egar
dst
othe
ut
il
izat
ionoft
heTr
easur
ySi
ngl
eAccount(
TSA)
.Tot
hisend,
t
he bank account
s ofal
lgov
ernmenti
nst
it
uti
ons wi
l
lbe
t
ransf
err
edt
otheCent
ralBankf
oreaseofmanagementand
moni
tor
ing.

191.Addi
ti
onal
l
y,Gov
ernmentwi
l
lel
i
minat
e al
lpay
ment
sin
cashatser
vicedel
i
ver
ypoi
ntsi
npubl
i
cser
vicei
nst
it
uti
ons,
i
ncl
udi
ngMDAsandMMDAs,i
nor
dert
oimpr
oveef
fi
ciencyi
n
ser
vicedel
i
ver
yandr
evenuecol
l
ect
iont
osuppor
ttheTSA.

I
mpr
ovi
ngPay
rol
lManagement
192.Mr
.Speaker
,thesi
zeoft
hepubl
i
c-sect
orcompensat
ionbi
l
l
(
wages,sal
ari
es,& ot
her cost
s),whi
ch account
sfor a
si
gni
fi
cantpr
opor
ti
onofdomest
icr
evenue,i
samaj
orconcer
n
f
orGov
ernment
.Iti
soneoft
he
Big-
Thr
eebudgetl
i
nei
tems
t
hatcont
inue t
o nar
row Gov
ernment
s choi
ces i
n pur
sui
ng
hi
ghereconomi
cgr
owt
handdev
elopmentpr
ogr
ammes.

72
193.TheSSNI
Tdat
abasewi
l
lbeusedasaf
il
terf
ort
hepay
ment
ofpubl
i
csect
orwor
ker
s.St
art
ingi
nApr
il
,al
lwor
ker
swhohav
e
notbeenbi
omet
ri
cal
l
yregi
ster
edwi
thSSNI
Twi
l
lbet
akenof
f
Gov
ernmentpay
rol
l
.

Recr
uit
mentandPr
omot
ionRel
atedAr
rear
s
194.Mr
.Speaker
,inspi
teoft
hePubl
i
cSer
vicesCommi
ssi
on
pol
i
cyonr
ecr
uit
ment
sandpr
omot
ions,wecont
inuet
osee
del
aysi
nthepr
ocessi
ngofr
ecr
uit
ment
sandi
npr
omot
ions.
Thesedel
ayscr
eat
efr
ust
rat
ionsf
ornewr
ecr
uit
sandser
veas
demot
ivat
ionf
orser
vingof
fi
cer
sduef
orpr
omot
ion.Fur
ther
,
t
hesedel
aysl
eadt
ounexpect
edaccumul
ati
onofar
rear
sthat
hur
tthei
ntegr
it
yofourf
iscal
planni
ng.

195.Mr
.Speaker
,inor
dert
ocont
rolt
hewagebi
l
l,andav
oid
compensat
ionar
rear
sthathav
enotbeenpr
ovi
dedf
ori
nour
budget
s,Gov
ernmentwi
l
lfr
om 2017st
ri
ctl
yenf
orcet
hepol
i
cy
and gui
del
i
nes on t
he ef
fect
ive dat
es ofpr
omot
ions and
r
ecr
uit
ment
swi
thi
nthePubl
i
cSer
vices.Subst
ant
iveef
fect
ive
dat
esofr
ecr
uit
ment
sandpr
omot
ionsshal
lnotbebackdat
ed
wi
thoutt
heexpl
i
citper
missi
onoft
heMi
nist
erf
orFi
nancei
n
wr
it
ing.

Enf
orcementoft
hePubl
icPr
ocur
ementAct

73
196.Mr
.Speaker
,as par
tofourexpendi
tur
e management
f
ramewor
k,Gov
ernmentwi
l
lst
ri
ctl
yenf
orcet
hepr
ovi
sionsof
t
hePubl
i
cPr
ocur
ementAct
,2003(
Act921)asamendedby
Publ
i
c Pr
ocur
ement (
Amendment
) Act
, 2016 (
Act 914)
,
especi
all
ywi
thr
egar
dtosol
esour
cing,whi
chhaspr
ovent
o
posesi
gni
fi
cantr
iskst
ofi
scalpol
i
cymanagement
.Toensur
e
t
hatpubl
i
cpr
ocur
ement
sar
edonewi
thi
nbudget
aryconst
rai
nt,
we i
ntend t
o st
rengt
hen t
he pr
ocur
ement pr
ocess by
i
ntr
oduci
nganot
herl
evel
ofappr
oval
forMDAsandMMDAs.To
t
hisend,sol
esour
cedpr
ocur
ement
sbyMDAsandMMDAs
bey
ond t
he t
hreshol
d ofGH50 mi
ll
ion wi
l
lbe subj
ectt
o
expl
i
citappr
ovalbyCabi
netbef
oresubmi
ssi
ont
othePubl
i
c
Pr
ocur
ementAut
hor
it
yforconsi
der
ati
onandappr
oval
.

I
MPROVI
NGDEBTMANAGEMENT
197.Mr
.Speaker
,asasi
gnofGov
ernment
scommi
tmentt
o
ensur
ingpubl
i
cdebtsust
ainabi
l
itywi
thi
nthef
ramewor
koft
he
PFMA,t
hedebtmanagementst
rat
egyi
n2017env
isagest
he
i
ntr
oduct
ion of new i
nst
rument
stof
urt
her l
engt
hen t
he
mat
uri
ty pr
ofi
l
e of publ
i
c debt
,reduce cost
/ri
sk f
act
ors
associ
ated wi
tht
hedebtpor
tfol
i
othr
oughef
fect
ivel
i
abi
l
ity
management
,and suppor
tthe dev
elopmentoft
he capi
tal
mar
ket
.

Li
abi
li
tyManagement
74
198.Mr
.Speaker
,to i
mpr
ovet
he st
ruct
ure ofpubl
i
c debt
,
Gov
ernment wi
l
l cont
inue t
o i
mpl
ement sound l
i
abi
l
ity
managementi
nit
iat
ivesai
medatr
educi
ngi
nter
estcostand
mi
ti
gat
ingi
nter
estr
ater
iskassoci
atedwi
tht
hecur
rentdebt
por
tfol
i
o.Thi
swi
l
linv
olv
ethei
mpl
ement
ati
onofawi
dev
ari
ety
ofoper
ati
ons,i
ncl
udi
ngt
hebuy
-backofexi
sti
ngdebtusi
ng
Si
nki
ngFundAccount
,int
erestr
atehedgi
ngandt
heuseof
st
ruct
uredf
inanci
ali
nst
rument
s,asmar
ketcondi
ti
onsper
mit
.

I
mpl
ement
ati
onofaCr
edi
tRi
skAssessmentFr
amewor
kfor
SOEs
199.Mr
.Speaker
,thecur
rentf
inanci
alst
ateandgov
ernance
st
ruct
uresoft
heSOEs,par
ti
cul
arl
y,i
ntheEner
gySect
or,i
s
wor
ryi
ng.Thi
scont
inuest
oposechal
l
engesf
orf
iscalpol
i
cy
out
comes.I
nthi
sregar
d,Gov
ernmentwi
l
limpl
ementacr
edi
t
r
isk assessmentf
ramewor
kto gui
de SOE bor
rowi
ng and
cont
inue t
o ensur
ethatnecessar
y secur
it
y st
ruct
ures and
i
nst
rument
sar
eputi
npl
acebyt
heSOEst
oensur
etheyhonour
t
hei
rdebtobl
i
gat
ions.

200.I
naddi
ti
on,Gov
ernmenti
ntendst
oest
abl
i
shaSi
ngl
eEnt
it
y
wi
thov
ersi
ghtr
esponsi
bil
i
tyoft
heSOEs.Thi
sfor
mspar
tof
br
oaderSOE r
efor
ms ai
med atconsol
i
dat
ing t
he St
ate
s
owner
shi
prol
e,i
mpr
oveper
for
manceandensur
eef
fect
iveand

75
ef
fi
ci
entser
vicedel
i
ver
ybySOEs.

I
NFRASTRUCTUREFORPOVERTYERADI
CATI
ON
PROGRAMME
201.Mr
.Speaker
,Gov
ernmenti
ntendst
opur
sueani
ncl
usi
ve
dev
elopmentst
rat
egyai
medatr
adi
cal
l
yimpr
ovi
ngt
hest
ateof
basi
cinf
rast
ruct
ureatt
heconst
it
uencyl
evel
,especi
all
yinr
ural
and depr
ived communi
ti
es.The I
nfr
ast
ruct
uref
orPov
ert
y
Er
adi
cat
ion Pr
ogr
amme(
IPEP)wi
l
lbeourmai
nvehi
clef
or
t
ackl
i
ngt
hesechal
l
enges.TheI
PEPi
sdesi
gnedt
odi
rectour
capi
talexpendi
tur
etowar
dsl
ocal
,const
it
uency
-l
evelspeci
fi
c
i
nfr
ast
ruct
ure and economi
c dev
elopment pr
ior
it
ies,wi
th
par
ti
cul
aremphasi
sonr
ural
anddepr
ivedcommuni
ti
es.

202.Mr
. Speaker
, under I
PEP, ev
ery one of our 275
const
it
uenci
eswi
l
lbeal
l
ocat
edt
heequi
val
entofUS$1mi
l
li
on
(
GH4.
39 mi
l
li
on)annual
l
y.I
tis expect
ed t
hatt
he pr
oject
sel
ect
ed,
underst
andar
disedgui
del
i
nes,
wil
lfal
li
nthef
oll
owi
ng
cat
egor
ies:
OneDi
str
ictOneFact
ory
;
OneVi
l
lageOneDam;
Smal
lBusi
nessDev
elopment
;
Agr
icul
tur
ali
nput
s,i
ncl
udi
ngequi
pment
;

76

Wat
erForAl
l
Pr
oject
s;and
Sani
tat
ionPr
oject
s.

Est
abl
ishmentofDev
elopmentAut
hor
it
ies
203.Mr
.Speaker
,inor
dert
oensur
ethatI
PEPandot
herl
ocal
i
nit
iat
ives ar
eimpl
ement
ed i
n a wel
l
-coor
dinat
ed manner
,
Gov
ernmentwi
l
lsetup t
hree (
3)Dev
elopmentAut
hor
it
ies,
namel
y,Nor
ther
nDev
elopmentAut
hor
it
y(NDA)
,Mi
ddl
eBel
t
Dev
elopment Aut
hor
it
y(MBA)
,and Coast
al Dev
elopment
Aut
hor
it
y(CDA)
.

204.TheDev
elopmentAut
hor
it
ieswi
l
lbet
hemai
neconomi
c
dev
elopmenti
mpl
ement
ingagenci
esi
nthear
east
heycov
er.

205.Mr
.Speaker
,Gov
ernmentwi
l
lrest
ruct
ureandt
ransf
ormt
he
Sav
annahAccel
erat
edDev
elopmentAut
hor
it
y(SADA)i
ntoa
mor
efocused Nor
ther
n Devel
opment Aut
hor
iy(
t NDA) as
or
igi
nal
l
y env
isaged.We wi
l
lmake t
he NDA a f
lagshi
p
pr
ogr
ammewhi
chwi
l
lser
veast
hev
ehi
clef
ordel
i
ver
ingour
economi
ctr
ansf
ormat
ionagendai
nthet
hreenor
ther
nregi
ons.

206.Mr
.Speaker
,theMi
ddl
eBel
tDev
elopmentAut
hor
it
y(MBA)
wi
l
lser
veast
hemai
ndev
elopmentagencyf
ort
hemi
ddl
ebel
t
oft
hecount
ry.TheCoast
alDev
elopmentAut
hor
it
y(CDA)wi
l
l

77
ser
ve ast
he pr
inci
paldev
elopmentagencyf
ort
he coast
al
r
egi
onsoft
hecount
ry.

ZongoDev
elopmentFund
207.Mr
.Speaker
,as par
tofouref
for
tst
o dev
elop Zongo
communi
ti
es,gov
ernmentwi
l
lsetupaZongoDev
elopment
Fund(
ZDF)wi
thseedmoneyofGH219.
5mi
l
li
on.TheFund
wi
l
lsuppor
tthepr
ovi
si
onofcr
it
icali
nfr
ast
ruct
urei
neducat
ion
and t
rai
ning;heal
th and sani
tat
ion;l
ocalbusi
nesses and
cent
resofcul
tur
e,aswel
lasi
mpr
ovesecur
it
yint
heZongo
communi
ti
es.TheZDFi
sexpect
edt
olev
eragei
tsseedf
undt
o
at
tractaddi
ti
onalf
undi
ngf
rom Dev
elopmentPar
tner
s,pr
ivat
e
sect
ori
nst
it
uti
ons,ci
vi
lsoci
etyor
gani
zat
ions,andot
hernon-
gov
ernment
alor
gani
zat
ions.

FREEPUBLI
CSENI
ORHI
GHSCHOOL
208.Mr
.Speaker
,aspar
tofourcommi
tmentt
oimpr
oveaccess
t
o educat
ion atal
llev
els,Gov
ernmentwi
l
limpl
ementt
he
compr
ehensi
ve f
ree publ
i
c Seni
or Hi
gh School (
SHS)
pr
ogr
ammest
art
ingwi
tht
he2017/
2018academi
cyear
.Thi
s
wi
l
lincl
udet
echni
cal
andv
ocat
ional
inst
it
utes.

209.Mr
.Speaker
,adequat
epr
ovi
sionshav
ebeenmadef
ort
he
f
undi
ng oft
his monument
alsoci
ali
nter
vent
ion pr
ogr
amme

78
whi
chi
ssett
obegi
ninSept
ember
,2017,f
rom t
heABFAand
ot
herdomest
icr
evenuesour
ces.

OTHERI
NITI
ATI
VES
210.Ot
herspeci
ali
nit
iat
ivest
hatwi
l
lbei
mpl
ement
edi
n2017
ar
easf
oll
ows:

Est
abl
ishmentofAi
rpor
tFr
eeZone
211.Mr
.Speaker
,ai
rpor
ts al
lov
ert
he wor
ld ar
e becomi
ng
i
ncr
easi
ngl
ymul
ti
modal
,mul
ti
-f
unct
ionalent
erpr
isescr
eat
ing
consi
der
abl
e oppor
tuni
ti
es f
orcommer
cialdev
elopment
sin
ar
eas t
hey ar
elocat
ed.Av
ail
abl
e ev
idence suggest
sthat
ai
rpor
tst
endt
oat
tracti
nvest
mentandt
her
efor
egener
atej
obs.
Manycount
ri
esar
econsi
der
ingai
rpor
tci
ti
es,oraer
otr
opol
i
s
(
air
por
t-
cent
redur
baneconomi
cregi
ons)asav
italmeansof
expandi
ngoppor
tuni
ti
esandcr
eat
ingj
obs.

212.Mr
.Speaker
,Gov
ernmenthasi
dent
if
iedt
heest
abl
i
shment
ofsect
or-
tar
get
edFr
eeZonesasamaj
ordr
iverf
orcapi
tal
i
nfl
owsandj
obsf
orGhanai
ansst
art
ing,t
hisy
ear
,wi
tht
he
pr
epar
ator
y wor
kforat
tract
ing pr
ivat
einv
est
menti
nto an
Ai
rpor
tFr
eeZone(
AFZ)
.TheAFZwi
l
lbepur
elyapr
ivat
esect
or
i
nvest
mentwi
th gov
ernmentonl
yfaci
l
itat
ing t
he pr
ocess.
Gov
ernment wi
l
l expl
ore sev
eral opt
ions wi
th pot
ent
ial

79
i
nvest
ors.

213.I
tisexpect
edt
hatt
hepr
epar
ator
ywor
kfort
heAFZwi
l
lbe
compl
etedbyt
heendoft
hisf
iscal
year
.

Fi
nanci
alSt
abi
li
tyCounci
l
214.Mr
.Speaker
,exposur
eto debt
sfr
om Bul
k Di
str
ibut
ion
Compani
es,St
ate-
Owned ener
gy ent
it
ies,as wel
las non-
per
for
mingpr
ivat
esect
orl
oanscont
inuest
oexer
tenor
mous
pr
essur
esont
hebanki
ngsect
or,posi
ngasy
stemi
cri
skt
othe
ent
ir
eeconomy
.A si
gni
fi
cantnumberofbankshav
ecapi
tal
adequacyr
ati
os bel
ow t
he r
equi
red 10 per
centev
en af
ter
r
est
ruct
uri
ngoft
heVRAandTORdebt
s.

215.Toaddr
esst
hisov
ert
hel
ongt
erm,t
hegov
ernmentwi
l
l
est
abl
i
shaFi
nanci
alSt
abi
l
ityCounci
lthatwi
l
lbemandat
ed,
among ot
her
s,t
o cont
inuousl
y assess t
he v
ulner
abi
l
iti
es
af
fect
ing t
he st
abi
l
ityoft
he f
inanci
alsy
stem and pr
ovi
de
ov
ersi
ghtov
ert
hest
epst
akent
oav
ertt
heser
isks.

Opt
imi
zingEner
gyAsset
s
216.Mr
.Speaker
,as a gov
ernment
,we ar
e commi
tt
ed t
o
achi
evi
ngal
east
-costpowergener
ati
oni
nfr
ast
ruct
uret
hrough
accel
erat
edpr
ivat
esect
orpar
ti
cipat
ion.Thi
swi
l
lpar
tl
yinv
olv
e

80
t
her
est
ruct
uri
ng oft
hepowersect
orbybr
ingi
ng al
lhy
dro
gener
ati
onexcl
usi
vel
yundert
heVol
taRi
verAut
hor
it
y(VRA)
andcr
eat
ingasepar
atet
her
mal
mar
ket
.

217.A new ent

it
y wi
l
lhol
dthe t
her
malasset
s whi
ch ar
e
cur
rent
lyhel
dbyVRAandmakeav
ail
abl
easi
gni
fi
cantpor
ti
on
oft
hisent
it
yforpr
ivat
esect
ori
nvest
menti
npur
sui
tofi
ts
pr
ivat
esect
orpar
ti
cipat
ionpol
i
cy.

GhanaI
nfr
ast
ruct
ureI
nvest
mentFund(
GII
F)
218.Mr
.Speaker
,in2007,
thet
henNPPgov
ernmentannounced
i
tsi
ntent
iont
osetupwhatwast
obet
heGhanaI
nvest
ment
Cor
por
ati
on(
GIC)asi
tspr
inci
pal
sov
erei
gnweal
thf
undv
ehi
cle.
I
npur
sui
ngt
his,
inApr
ilof2008,
thel
ateKwadwoBaah-
Wir
edu
pr
esent
edamemot
ocabi
netf
orappr
ovalt
ocommencet
he
pr
ocessesoff
ormi
ngt
heGI
Cwhi
chwasappr
oved.Adr
aftbi
l
l
was pr
epar
ed butcoul
d notbe passed bef
ore we exi
ted
gov
ernment
.

219.Mr
.Speaker
,Gov
ernmenti
ntendst
orev
iewt
heGI
IFl
awt
o
makei
tconsi
stentwi
tht
heor
igi
nalobj
ect
ivesoft
heGhana
I
nvest
mentCor
por
ati
on(
GIC)
.Thi
shasbecomei
mper
ati
veas
weseekt
otakeamor
eaggr
essi
vepost
urei
nlev
eragi
ngt
he
asset
ssi
deofourbal
ancesheett
ocr
eat
eweal
tht
osuppor
t

81
t
hedev
elopmentoft
hecount
ry.

220.Mr
.Speaker
,the GI
C wi
l
lmanage t
he Nat
ionalAsset
Pr
otect
ionPr
oject(
NAPP)
,apr
ogr
ammedesi
gnedt
oconducta
phy
sicaland f
inanci
alaudi
ttol
ocat
e,i
dent
if
y and v
alue
uncompl
etedGov
ernmentasset
s.

I
nter
nat
ionalFi
nanci
alSer
vicesCent
re
221.Mr
.Speaker
,theBanki
ng(
Amendment
)Act
,2007(
Act738)
was passed t
o make way f
ort
he est
abl
i
shmentoft
he
I
nter
nat
ional Fi
nanci
al Ser
vices Cent
re (
IFSC) by t
he
Gov
ernment
. The pur
pose i
s t
o at
tract f
orei
gn di
rect
i
nvest
ment
,income f
rom l
i
cense f
ees pay
abl
einf
orei
gn
cur
renci
es,cr
eat
e empl
oyment
,enhance l
ocalski
l
ls and
knowl
edge,st
rengt
hent
hef
inanci
alsect
ort
hroughexpansi
on
i
ntheuseofi
nvest
mentbanki
ngi
nst
rument
s,andt
oincr
ease
t
hegener
alcompet
it
ivenessoff
inanci
alsect
or.

222.Mr
.Speaker
,Gov
ernmentwi
l
lreact
ivat
ethepr
ocessst
art
ed
byt
heMi
nist
ryofFi
nanceandt
heBankofGhanaasf
arback
as2007t
oest
abl
i
sht
heI
nter
nat
ionalFi
nanci
alSer
vicesCent
re
(
IFSC)
.

MI
LLENNI
UM CHALLENGECORPORATI
ON
82
223.Mr Speaker
,the Ghana Compact I
Ipr
ogr
amme has
of
fi
ci
all
ycomei
ntof
orce.Bot
hpar
ti
est
otheCompact
,the
Gov
ernment
s ofGhana and Uni
ted St
ates ofAmer
ica,ar
e
commi
tt
edt
ocompl
yi
ngwi
tht
hei
robl
i
gat
ions.Howev
er,t
he
i
mpl
ement
ati
on ofGhana
s commi
tment
s has f
aced some
chal
l
enges due t
o di
sagr
eement
s bet
ween st
akehol
der
s,
par
ti
cul
arl
y bet
ween l
abour
, ECG and t
he Mi
l
lenni
um
Dev
elopmentAut
hor
it
y(Mi
DA)
.Weneedf
urt
herdi
alogueon
t
hekeyi
ssuest
hathav
egener
atedt
hesedi
sagr
eement
s.We
ar
eawar
ethatt
hesedi
scussi
onsshoul
dbeconcl
udedur
gent
ly
i
n or
dert
o ar
ri
ve att
he deci
sions t
hatwi
l
lal
l
ow f
ori
ts
i
mpl
ement
ati
on.

224.Mr
.Speaker
,Gov
ernmentwi
l
lreact
ivat
ethedi
alogueont
he
keyi
ssuest
hathav
egener
atedt
hesedi
sagr
eement
stoensur
e
t
hatal
lconcer
ns ar
e adequat
ely addr
essed and t
hatt
he
r
esol
uti
onwi
l
lensur
ethecent
ral
i
tyofGhanai
anl
eader
shi
p.

EDUCATI
ONFUND
225.Mr
. Speaker
, we wi
l
lini
ti
ate di
scussi
ons wi
th al
l
st
akehol
der
sint
erest
edi
ntheper
for
manceoft
hei
rseni
orhi
gh
school
sint
hei
rcommuni
ti
es;Par
ent
s,schoolal
umni
,rel
i
gious
or
gani
sat
ions,t
hedi
aspor
a,wi
l
lbeencour
agedt
oest
abl
i
sha
f
undi
ngmechani
sm t
osuppor
thi
ghschool
soft
hei
rchoi
ce.
Thi
swi
l
lrei
nfor
cecommuni
tyi
nvol
vementi
ngov
ernanceand
83
i
mpr
ovet
hequal
i
tyofeducat
ioni
nourseni
orhi
ghschool
s.I
tis
t
imeweal
lpar
ti
cipat
edi
nensur
ingt
hatGhana
seducat
ion
r
egai
nsi
tsst
atusofexcel
l
ence.

I
NTEGRATEDALLUMI
NIUM I
NDUSTRY

226.Ghana has si
nce 1962, been cont
empl
ati
ng t
he
est
abl
i
shmentofani
ntegr
atedal
umi
num i
ndust
ry,usi
ngi
ts
nat
ural
resour
cesi
nbauxi
te,
hydr
o,gasandi
tsexi
sti
ngsmel
ter
.
Thecl
osestt
hatt
hecount
rygott
oreal
i
zingt
hiswasi
n2008,
underPr
esi
dentJAKuf
uor
.Thankf
ull
y,Pr
esi
dentAkuf
o-Addo
has made t
he r
api
d and sust
ainabl
e est
abl
i
shmentofan
i
ntegr
atedal
umi
nium i
ndust
ryat
opeconomi
cpr
ior
it
y.Thi
sis
l
i
newi
thhi
svi
sionf
ori
ndust
ri
ali
zat
ionandt
ransf
ormat
ionof
t
he Ghanai
an economy
,wi
th a del
i
ber
atef
ocus on v
alue-
addi
ti
ont
othecount
ry'
svastmi
ner
alweal
tht
osi
gni
fi
cant
ly
expandt
hecapaci
tyoft
heeconomyt
ocr
eat
ejobsandweal
th
f
ort
hepeopl
e.

Al
otoff
easi
bil
i
tyst
udi
eshav
ebeendonei
nthear
ea.The2017
budgetseekst
orev
ivet
hiscr
it
icalgame-
changerand has,
accor
dingl
y,madepr
ovi
sionst
oseet
othei
mpl
ement
ati
onof
an i
ntegr
ated al
umi
nium i
ndust
ry.The dev
elopmentoft
he
i
ndust
rywi
l
lrequi
re6mai
ncomponent
s:

84
 Fi
rst
,the dev
elopmentoft
he bauxi
te mi
nes whi
ch ar
e
l
ocat
edi
nAwaso,
Nyi
nahi
nandKy
ebi
.

Second,t
he est
abl
i
shmentofa r
efi
ner
yatone oft
he
bauxi
te si
ght
s,pr
efer
abl
yin Ky
ebi
,because of i
ts cl
oset
pr
oxi
mit
ytoTema,
wher
etheVal
cosmel
teri
slocat
ed.

The al
l
ocat
ion ofa dedi
cat
ed,r
eli
abl
e and af
for
dabl
e
sour
ceofpowersuppl
yfort
hesmel
ter
.

Thedev
elopmentofar
ailwayi
nfr
ast
ruct
urebet
weent
he
mi
nesandTema.

Theconv
ersi
onoft
heal
umi
nat
oal
umi
nium att
hecur
rent
Val
copl
ant
.

The est
abl
i
shmentofan i
ndust
ri
alpar
k dedi
cat
ed t
o
manuf
act
uri
ng al
umi
nium r
elat
ed pr
oduct
sto compl
etet
he
v
aluechai
nofwhati
spot
ent
ial
l
yamul
ti
-bi
l
li
onl
ocal
indust
ry.

ThePr
esi
denti
ntendst
oint
roduceaBi
l
ltot
hisHouset
hisy
ear
t
oov
erseet
heur
gentdev
elopmentoft
hiscr
it
ical
indust
ry.

FI
GHTI
NGCORRUPTI
ON
227.Mr
.Speaker
,aswehav
esai
dsev
eral
l
y,
cor
rupt
ionhol
ds
backeconomi
cgr
owt
h,i
ncr
easest
hecostofdoi
ngbusi
ness,
r
educesr
evenuet
othest
ate,
leadst
ocapi
talf
li
ght
,andi
nfl
ates

85
t
hecostofr
unnni
nggov
ernment
.Ital
sor
esul
tsi
nal
ossof
l
egi
ti
macyandr
espectf
orl
egal
l
yconst
it
utedaut
hor
it
y.

228.I
nthi
sregar
d,Gov
ernmentwi
l
lcont
inuet
hei
mpl
ement
ati
on
of Nat
ional Ant
i-
Cor
rupt
ion Act
ion Pl
an. Addi
ti
onal
l
y,
Gov
ernmentwi
l
lpur
sue a combi
nat
ion ofi
nst
it
uti
onaland
l
egi
sl
ati
ver
efor
m aspar
tofourant
icor
rupt
ionpol
i
cy,i
ncl
udi
ng
est
abl
i
shi
ng t
he Of
fi
ce oft
he Speci
alPr
osecut
or,st
ri
ctl
y
appl
yi
ngt
hepr
ovi
sionsi
nthePFM andPPAAct
s,aswel
las
amend,i
n par
ti
cul
ar,sect
ions 3,151 and 239-
257 oft
he
Cr
imi
nalOf
fences Act
,1960 (
Act 29)
,whi
ch wi
l
lmake
cor
rupt
ionaf
elonyi
nst
eadofami
sdemenour
.
229.Mr
.Speaker
,thi
sgov
ernmenti
scommi
tedt
opassi
ngt
he
Ri
ghtt
oInf
ormat
ion Bi
l
las par
tofourt
ool
sinf
ight
ing
cor
rupt
ion.Wewi
l
lnotpayl
i
pser
vicet
ofi
ght
ingcor
rupt
ion.

JOBCREATI
ON
230.Mr
.Speaker
,thecent
repi
eceoft
hisbudgeti
stocr
eat
ean
env
ironmentt
hatwi
l
lst
imul
atet
hepr
ivat
esect
ort
ocr
eat
ejobs,
especi
all
yfort
he y
out
h.I
tseeks t
o cr
eat
e an enabl
i
ng
env
ironmentt
obui
l
dthecapaci
tyofoury
out
htot
akeonmor
e
act
iver
olesi
nourcount
ry
sfut
ureandi
tsdev
elopment
.Thi
s
hasbeenr
efl
ect
edi
nthekeypol
i
cyi
nit
iat
ivesannouncedi
nthi
s
budget
,suchas:
Taxpol
i
cymeasur
es
86
 Fi
nanci
alsect
ori
nit
iat
ives
Ent
repr
eneur
shi
pdev
elopment
Onedi
str
ictonef
act
ory
Onev
il
lageonedam
Smal
lBusi
nessDev
elopment
St
imul
uspackagef
ori
ndust
ri
es
Pl
ant
ingf
orf
oodandj
obs
Sani
tat
ion

87
SECTI
ONSEVEN:CONCLUSI
ON

CONCLUSI
ON
231.Mr
.Speaker
,Ghanat
urns60i
naf
ewday
sandt
her
ehav
e
beenar
gument
swhet
heri
tiswor
thcel
ebr
ati
ngt
hismi
l
est
one
gi
ven t
hesombr
est
ateofaf
fai
rs.Ibel
i
evewemust
.Thi
s
anni
ver
sar
ypr
ovi
desus,notonl
ytheoppor
tuni
tyt
oref
lectbut
al
sot
hechal
l
enget
ochar
tanewandendur
ingcour
se.

232.Ghanai
sseenasabast
ionofdemocr
acyandst
abi
l
ityi
n
Af
ri
ca.As a count
ry,we hav
e deepened ourdemocr
acy
especi
all
yint
hef
our
thr
epubl
i
c.Wehav
ehadt
hree(
3)peacef
ul
andsuccessf
ult
ransf
ersofpower
.Ourl
ovef
oreducat
ionand
ournat
ionalchar
act
eroff
ri
endl
i
nessandpeacel
ovi
ngset
sus
apar
t.

233.Oureconomi
cchal
l
enges,hav
ehowev
er,beent
hebaneof
ourdev
elopmentaspi
rat
ions.Thepol
i
cyact
ionsspel
touti
n
t
hisBudgetSt
atementseekt
ofi
xtheeconomyandchanget
he
nar
rat
ivet
oputt
heeconomyont
her
ightpat
hofphenomenal
gr
owt
h.Webel
i
evet
hatt
hisbudgetsowst
heseedsf
orgr
owt
h,
j
obs,andt
heeconomi
ctr
ansf
ormat
ionagendaout
li
nedi
nthe
v
isi
onoft
hePr
esi
dent
,NanaAddoDankwaAkuf
o-Addo.

234.Our
s,Mr
.Speaker
,isagov
ernmentofdest
inywhi
chwi
l
l
88
uni
teourpeopl
e;andt
oget
her
,incl
udi
ngal
lthepeopl
eint
his
Chamber
,wewi
l
lcr
eat
eacl
i
mat
eofsoci
alsol
i
dar
it
y,asocei
ty
wher
ethepr
efer
ent
ialopt
ionf
ort
hepoori
satt
hecor
eofa
pr
ivat
esect
orl
edgr
owt
htot
ransf
orm oursoci
etyandachi
eve
soci
alj
ust
ice,i
ncl
usi
vegr
owt
handr
est
orehumandi
gni
tyand
pr
osper
it
yforal
lci
ti
zens.Pov
ert
y,Honour
abl
emember
sisnot
nat
ural
.Ourchal
l
engeaswesi
tint
hesehal
l
owedhal
l
sist
o
l
i
ber
ateour
sel
vesf
rom ar
iggedandunj
usteconomi
c,pol
i
tial
andsoci
alsy
stem t
hatwehav
ehel
pedt
oimposeonournat
ion.
Thedemocr
ati
cdi
vi
dendsofpr
osper
it
yandequi
tyar
ethus
cur
rent
lyel
udi
ngus.

235.MrSpeaker
,thi
s gov
ernmentwi
l
ltake del
i
ber
ate and
st
rat
egi
cst
epst
ofundament
all
ychanget
hest
ruct
ureoft
his
economy bequeat
hed t
o us 60 y
ear
s ago and we ar
e
commi
tt
edt
oimpl
ement
ingt
hemeasur
esIhav
eout
li
ned.
Wewi
l
lrest
oreandsust
ainmacr
ost
abi
l
ity
.
Wewi
l
lpr
ovi
det
heenv
ironmentf
orpr
ivat
esect
ort
ogr
ow
andt
hri
ve,
wewi
l
limpr
ovepubl
i
cser
vicesandt
ackl
ecor
rupt
ion.
Wewi
l
lsuppor
tsmal
lbusi
nessesi
nrur
aland depr
ived
ar
eas
Wewi
l
lensur
ethatev
eryGhanai
anhasequaloppor
tuni
ty
andr
ightt
oleadapr
oduct
iveanddi
gni
fi
edl
i
fe,
bei
ngabl
eto

89
 f
ull
ydev
elopt
hei
rGod-
giv
encapabi
l
ites.

236.Ourr
uralcommuni
ti
eswi
l
lbegi
ntoseeamor
epur
posef
ul
andsust
ainedef
for
tatt
ransf
ormi
ngt
hei
rli
vest
hrought
he
i
ntr
oduct
ionofv
ari
ousdi
str
ictl
eveli
ndust
ri
alandagr
icul
tur
al
i
nit
iat
ivesaswel
lasi
mpr
ovededucat
ionandheal
thf
aci
l
iti
es
and ser
vices. Mr
. Speaker
,I see our nat
ion wi
th t
his
ov
erwhel
ming el
ect
ion mandat
e as al
lhav
ing deci
ded t
o
wi
thdr
aw i
nuni
sonl
i
keJesust
oar
emot
epl
ace,Mr
.Speaker
,
onl
ytodi
scov
ert
hatwehav
efi
vel
oav
esofbr
eadandt
wo
f
ishest
ofeedour25mi
l
li
onpl
usf
ell
owci
ti
zens.Buther
einl
i
es
t
he geni
us oft
he Ghanai
an
forwe ar
e God
s handi
wor
k
cr
eat
edi
nChr
istJesust
odogoodwor
kswhi
chGodpr
epar
ed
i
nadv
ancef
orust
odo.

Asy
oucan see,Mr
.Speaker
,wi
th5l
oav
esand2f
ishes,
Pr
esi
dentAkuf
o-Addo
sbudgethast
ackl
edt
hef
ivest
ruct
ural
pi
l
lar
sofr
evenue,expendi
tur
e,ear
mar
kedf
unds,l
abourand
ourdebt
.Budget
aryal
l
ocat
ions hav
e been made f
rom t
ax
r
evenue,ABFAandt
her
eal
i
gnmentofst
atut
oryf
undst
ofund
t
hese pr
ior
it
ypr
ogr
ammes.The br
eakdown oft
he f
undi
ng
sour
cesar
e,ABFA GH342.
0mi
l
li
on,t
axr
evenueGH785.
0
mi
l
li
on,and r
eal
i
gnmentofst
atut
oryf
undsGH1.
08 bi
l
li
on.
Thi
shasbeendonet
hroughpr
ior
it
izat
ionofexpendi
tur
esand
pl
annedi
mpr
ovementandef
fi
ciencyi
ngov
ernmentspendi
ng.

90
Mr
.Speaker
,inaddi
ti
ont
ofundi
ngt
hesesi
gni
fi
cantnumberof
pr
ogr
ammeswi
thl
esserr
esour
cest
hanwasspentl
asty
ear
,
wehav
eal
l
ocat
edov
erGHs700mi
l
li
onf
orcapi
talexpendi
tur
e
sev
ent
imesmor
ethanwasal
l
ocat
edl
asty
ear
,fundedNHI
S
andf
reeSHS,pr
ovi
dedt
axr
eli
eff
ort
hepr
ivat
esect
orandal
l
ot
hersoci
o economi
ccl
asses,r
educed l
evi
eson pet
roeum
pr
oduct
s,r
educed el
ect
ri
cit
ypr
ices,pr
ovi
dedast
imul
usf
or
t
hepr
ivat
esect
orandagr
icut
lur
eandbr
oughtdownt
hedef
ici
t
f
rom 8.
7per
centt
o6.
5per
cent
.Butt
hati
snotal
lMr
.Speaker
,
f
oraher
it
ageof12 basket
sful
loff
ishand l
oav
esi
syet
av
ail
abl
etof
urt
hersowf
orgr
owt
handj
obs.

237.Ourai
m i
stor
est
orehopeandst
eert
hecount
ryont
oa
sust
ainabl
eandi
ncl
usi
vegr
owt
hpat
h.
Acount
ryt
hati
sreener
gizedt
oredef
ineandr
eor
ienti
tsel
fto
conf
rontt
hechal
l
engesahead;
Acount
ryi
nchar
geofi
tsowndest
iny
;
A count
rywher
ethepr
ivat
esect
ori
swel
lequi
pped t
o
i
nvesti
ntheeconomyandbet
hecat
aly
stf
orgr
owt
h;
A count
rywher
eoury
out
hhav
eaccesst
other
equi
sit
e
educat
ionwhi
chwi
l
lexpandt
hei
rhor
izonandgi
vet
hem t
he
oppor
tuni
tyt
odr
eam andexpr
esst
hei
rcr
eat
ivi
ty,
tal
ent
sand
abi
l
iti
esand
Acount
rywher
eeachandev
eryci
ti
zeni
spr
oudt
obea

91
 Ghanai
anandt
ocal
lthi
scount
ryhome.

238.Mr
.Speaker
,letmet
aket
hismomentasweneart
heendof
t
hisgr
eatpr
ivi
l
edget
opr
esentPr
esi
dentAkuf
o-Addo
sfi
rst
budgett
othi
saugusthouse,t
oref
lectononei
oft
hef
inest
moment
sint
hehi
stor
yofourdemocr y23rd1981.As
acyonJul
y
ou al
lknow,dur
ing t
het
hir
drepubl
i
c,t
hecount
rywasi
n
econoi
ccr
isi
sundert
hegov
ernmentoft
hePNP.Iam pr
oudt
o
sayt
hatmyf
ather
,Dr
.JonesOf
ori
-At
ta,i
nopposi
ti
onwi
than
amendment mot
ion, co-
sponsor
ed by Dr
. GK Agama
successf
ull
ygott
hisaugusthouset
osuppor
tanamended
mot
iont
osav
ethecount
ry.Honour
abl
eMember
s,wedohav
e
acr
isi
swhi
chwecanhandl
eandIwi
l
lcal
lony
ou,Honor
abl
e
Mi
nor
it
yLeaderHar
unaI
ddr
isu,t
heHonour
abl
eMi
nor
it
yWhi
p
Al
banBagbi
n,honour
abl
eranki
ngmember
s At
oFor
sonand
Fi
i
fiKwet
eyoft
heFi
nanceCommi
tt
eet
ojoi
nusi
nthegr
eat
exampl he3rdRepubl
eoft i
ctosal
vageandbui
l
doureconomy
.

239.Webel
i
evewi
tht
hehel
poft
heAl
might
yGodwecandel
i
ver
onal
lthewel
lthoughtoutpr
ogr
ammesandpol
i
cies,andbui
l
d
a busi
nessf
ri
endl
yand pr
osper
ouseconomy
.Mr
.Speaker
,

Goddi
dnotgi
veusaSpi
ri
toft
imi
dit
ybutofpower
,lov
e,
soundj
udgmentandsel
fdi
sci
pli
ne

MR.Speaker
,wecandoi
t,Iper
sonal
l
ypl
edget
owor
kwi
thy
ou,
92
wi
th candour
, wi
th t
ranspar
ency
,respect and a deep
commi
tmentt
o pr
otectt
his publ
i
c pur
se.Letus go f
ort
h
t
oget
her
.
240.GodI
ndeed bl
ess ourhomel
and Ghana and make our
nat
iongr
eatandst
rong.

241.Mr
.Speaker
,Ibegt
omov
e.

93