By Erica Apeatua Addo
Tarkwa (W/R), Mar. 18, GNA – The Coalition of Parents of Students in Private Institutions (COPOSIPI) is urging the government to capitalize on the current goodwill from Ghanaians and successfully implement the 2025 budget.
They said by doing so, the government could build trust and confidence among the citizens, ultimately benefiting the country.
According to the group, many budgets have been presented in the past but unfortunately, they were not fully executed caused several negative consequences such as financial instability, loss of stakeholder trust, reduced accountability, unrealized goals, among others.
Dr Simon Gbene, the Executive Secretary of COPOSIPI, disclosed this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said “People are optimistic about this budget. Let us focus on effective implementation. If challenges arise, let us acknowledge them, explain the reasons, and be transparent about revenue generation bottlenecks”.
“We are currently under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, and they are closely monitoring our actions. We need to be transparent with the public about any IMF restrictions and guidelines” he explained.
Mr Gbene, also said “One tricky issue is that Gross Domestic Products (GDP) growth can be misleading. For instance, the previous government reported a GDP growth rate of around 5% at the end of the year, but the reality on the ground may have been different”.
He alleged that the former government’s GDP growth was fuelled by illegal mining, which polluted rivers bodies, destroyed forests reserves and communities, added that “That is “toxic growth”, and we reject it and seek sustainable development instead”.
Mr Gbene reiterated that “We need sustainable growth that will benefits people and the planet, not toxic growth driven by galamsey, which devastates our environment and only few benefit”.
GNA
JP /AD