• Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta presenting the 2023 Budget Statement in Parliament

 The main items of expenditure in the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy included the usual developmental projects together with new ones that are ongoing or will be ongoing in various parts of the country.

Some of the ongoing projects already known to people in this country are road construction, the building of schools, water and electricity projects, health centres and hospitals, as well as projects like providing drinking water for the rural folk. All these projects are meant to meet the developmental needs of residents in various parts of the country.

FLAGSHIP PROJECTS

Other projects that are also ongoing include planting for food and jobs and the construction of houses for workers in the country in the form of state housing projects. Furthermore, expen­ditures in the form of financing the free Senior High School together with Technical Vocational Education and Training will also continue as planned. All these are important projects that ought to be continued to improve the welfare and productive skills of people, among others.

Another major item of expenditure is the 5-lane on each side of the Tema Motorway. This means that each side of the motorway will be redesigned and constructed with five lanes. This will be a major project in the country to meet the challenges ahead, but it will result in huge expenditures for the country. Such an expen­diture is necessary to cope with the expanding needs of the country.

POPULATION GROWTH

With population growth, now at about 32 million, and rapid growth in urbanisation, it has become necessary to expand some of the major roads in the country. Dualisation of some parts of the road from Accra to Kumasi, as well as the Beach Road from Accra to Tema, has become necessary at this point in time to meet today’s demanding tenets. The country cannot pretend that such infrastructure is not necessary.

Apart from these entire road infrastructure as well as the expansion of the Tema Motorway, many more projects will continue to be undertaken in various com­munities, districts and regions in the country.

NEW REGIONS

Also, the new regions that have been created ought to continue with their developmental projects in the form of accommodation for workers, pipe borne water, road construction, and regional administrative blocks, among others. Under the new paradigm of develop­ment, facilities will not be allowed to be concentrated in the regional capital alone, as was done in the past.

What this means is that infrastructural development is to be dispersed among various parts of the region. A regional agricultural office may be built in one part of the region, while some new projects in the form of new schools may also be established in various parts of the region concerned.

DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS

Similarly, certain ministries may also be built or constructed in different parts of the new regions. This is to ensure that developmental projects are not con­centrated in only one part of the new regions. This is also a laudable idea that needs the support of everyone in the country so as to ensure that various sections of the population are treated fairly in their developmen­tal needs.

The 2023 budget statement has also provided for a remodel of the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange. Such a remodel will also increase government expenditure to a very high level, but that is necessary to ensure that the growing needs of people in this country are accommodated.

In addressing this challenge, the people of this country will not be overtaken by the lack of a certain structure or by the absence of developmental needs in various parts of the country. Undoubtedly, therefore, the expenditure in the budget has shot up to about GH¢108 billion.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Here, if inflation is not controlled adequately, it is possible that this expenditure may go even higher, to over GH¢115 billion. It must also be remembered that over the past few years, measures have been taken to protect the environment, including planting trees in all the regions and districts.

In 2022 alone, the government, through the For­estry Commission, planted over five million trees. All that was done at a certain cost, and it is believed that in 2023, more trees will be planted than were done in 2022.

In 2021, the number of trees planted amounted to about two million. This intention was not bad but had to be improved upon in the following year, that is, 2022, and this is why in 2023 there is the likelihood that more trees will be planted. If more trees are planted, then again, expenditures for the country will be high.

The point being made is that with high expenditure facing the country, we will have to find ways of ensur­ing that all financial resources are found for the design and implementation of many more programmes that may be needed by people in this country.

ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITIES

While the government is playing its part, it is at the same time encouraging the youth to undertake their own entrepreneurial activities. Such entrepre­neurial activities will go a long way toward creating satisfactory jobs for the young members of our popu­lation.

It is for this reason that the Ghana Enterprise Agen­cy has been constituted to assist all prospective and interested individuals who would want to undertake and run their own businesses. The You-Start Project is all part of the package, and the government is spend­ing huge sums of money for its smooth implementa­tion.

Contact email/whatsApp address of author:

Pradmat201@gmail.com

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By Dr. Kofi Amponsah-Bediako