The Honorable Member of Parliament for the North Tongu constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has detailed Ghanaians with some shocking revelations on how Ken Ofori Atta has drastically reduced allocations to some promising areas of the economy. Surprisingly, Ken Ofori Atta increased the allocations to the Office of the President and the contingency vote.
It will be recalled that in the previous 2022 budget, Ken Ofori Atta introduced the latest government policy, YouStart, in Parliament. A special allocation of GHS1 billion for YouStart was made in the 2022 budget. However, per the revelation of Ablakwa, no such allocations were made.
Other areas where there was a reduced or no allocation are the Agenda 111 policy, the Zongo Development Fund, the Fish Landing Sites project, MASLOC, and the famous NABCO project.
A festival of haircuts across multiple sectors- Ablakwa writes
Read the write-up by Ablakwa.
Variations of haircuts are happening in many more places than we have cared to look:
1) Unlike in the 2022 Budget which had a special allocation of GHS1billion for YouStart, the 2023 Budget has absolutely no allocation for YouStart — a flagship policy intervention the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/Ofori-Atta administration had presented as the solution to youth unemployment from 2022-2025;
2) For the first time since President Akufo-Addo announced Agenda 111, the 2023 Budget has no allocation for the President’s major hospital expansion programme. In the 2022 Budget, GHS518million was allocated but not this time;
3) The much talked about Zongo Development Fund is nearing collapse as the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/Ofori-Atta government drastically cuts by over 80% its allocation from GHS154.2million in 2022 to a paltry GHS24.4million;
4) Folks in coastal communities would equally be disappointed to discover that despite their demands for increased expenditure on Fish Landing Sites, the government has cut their allocation from GHS77.2million in 2022 to a measly GHS26.3million;
5) Struggling traders and other small business owners who were looking up to MASLOC for salvation in this period of economic crisis would also be upset to find out that allocation to MASLOC has been slashed from GHS50million in 2022 to a depressing GHS14.4million;
6) As we remember our NaBCo friends, they will be certainly devastated to discover that no provision has been made in the 2023 Budget to cater for their longstanding arrears — this is most cruel considering that they are owed allowances for 9-11 months.
So, it’s quite clearly a festival of haircuts across multiple sectors, except President Akufo-Addo’s Office of Government Machinery where they can afford to employ an additional 1,570 despite a freeze for other sectors, and except the government’s Contingency Vote which has seen a massive increase from GHS993million in 2022 to GHS1.4billion in 2023.
It will be recalled that Ablakwa dropped a shocking revelation of the amounts that has been allocated to the contingency votes in the 2023 budget.
A festival of haircuts across multiple sectors- Ablakwa writes
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