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SEND Ghana is punching holes in Ghana’s 2021 budget by insisting that the budget which is full of taxes still depends on foreign donors.
According to the research and policy think tank, analysis of national budgets from 2018 to 2021 revealed that the government still relied heavily on development partners (DPs) to fund its capital investments, despite its vision to continue. the “Ghana Beyond Aid” program.
Mr George Osei-Bimpeh, national director of SEND Ghana, at a press conference in Accra on the assessment of the 2021 budget statement, said that in the agriculture sector, DPs are expected to contribute 84.8 % of the allocation to finance the capital expenditure (CAPEX) of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development.
In addition, 88.9 percent of the budget allocations to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture’s CAPEX would be funded by DPs, he added.
Mr. Osei-Bimpeh said that while investment in CAPEX was essential to spur growth, the excessive reliance on donor support, which was unpredictable, jeopardized the government’s will to continue modernization and industrialization of agriculture.
Regarding the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, he said, investments in the provision of water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) services over the past three years have largely donor driven.
He explained that in 2019, 70.26% of the projected allocation to WASH came from donors and by 2020 it had increased to 82.39%, noting that the trend continued in 2021 with funds. projected 75.43% from PD.
“With this trend, the government will most likely miss its target of reducing subsidies by 10% to finance goods and services and CAPEX by 2023, as foreseen in the Ghana Beyond Aid strategy paper,” he said. declared.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the country director said, had dramatically transformed the development finance landscape and external support was more focused on tackling and overcoming the pandemic.
He said capital inflows to developing countries from external private sources are expected to decline by US $ 700 billion, with foreign direct investment flows expected to decline by 45 percent in developing economies.
Mr. Osei-Bimpeh recommended the government to renegotiate and control the country’s natural resources and find a sustainable way to finance and implement its capital investments, as the over-reliance on shrinking and unpredictable donor support had serious implications for the implementation of key government interventions.
This, he added, would make Ghana self-sufficient to achieve the Ghana Beyond Aid program and Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 6 and 17, with a focus on no poverty, no hunger, drinking water and sanitation for all, and strengthening the mobilization of national resources.
Turning to cross-sectoral budget observation, he said the 2021 budget statement did not indicate the actual budget performance of ministries, departments and agencies and metropolitan municipal and district assemblies on education and other sectors for education. year ending in 2020.
According to Mr. Osei-Bimpeh, this information was relevant to assess the performance of the previous year on the basis of the projections made for the current year and the other years.
He said the education sector was known to be over budget, especially on the pay item, noting that in 2018 the ministry spent GH ¢ 12.77 billion, which was more than its budget. allocation of GH ¢ 9.25 billion in nominal terms.
“We call on the government, in a spirit of transparency, to be consistent with the provision of budget information on all sectors, and in formats accessible and understood by all citizens,” he said.
The 2021 budget proposed tax components of a one percent COVID-19 Health Levy, a one percent increase in the flat rate VAT, and a 5.7 percent increase in oil prices at the pump (Energy Sector Recovery Levy de 20 pesewas; the 10 pesewas Sanitation and Pollution Tax per liter on gasoline / diesel).
Mr Osei-Bimpeh said taxes were more based on consumption and the burden would fall more on the poor and vulnerable, urging the government to be more innovative with the option of taxation by targeting the ‘haves’ instead. to weigh down “the destitute”. not. ”
— RNG
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