By Stanley Senya
Accra, March 18, GNA – SEND Ghana, a subsidiary of SEND West Africa, has called on government to critically look at some gaps in the 2025 budget that need urgent consideration.
The non-governmental organization said areas such as the LEAP programme, healthcare, education, water and sanitation, and illegal mining (Galamsey) were major gaps not addressed properly in the budget.
In a statement, copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, SEND Ghana said successive governments had not prioritized the periodic reassessment of beneficiaries under the LEAP programme.
It said according to the 2022 Auditor General’s report, the government’s failure to carry out these assessments resulted in improper payments totalling GH¢396,620.00 to beneficiaries who no longer qualify for the programme.
In 2024, some reassessments were conducted in 10 districts
in the northern regions of Ghana with plans for further assessments in the remaining regions.
Although the 2025 budget aims to continue this activity, it does not specify the timelines for completing the reassessments.
It said the government must establish clear and strict deadlines for the full implementation of these reassessments to prevent wasteful expenditure, improve programme coverage, and ensure sustainability.
The statement said the proposed uncapping of the National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) presented a crucial opportunity for the Government to significantly enhance domestic resource mobilization for claims payments.
Although the NHIL is supported by government funding, the current allocation of approximately GHS 9 million into the NHIF is insufficient due to the expansion of care services to include critical care, vaccine payments, primary health care, and the funding gap left by USAID. There is a high risk that NHIL may become overburdened.
Currently, Ghana owes an outstanding amount of $16.25 million in addition to its co-financing obligations for 2025.Vaccine payment alone is much more than the allocation to the NHIF.
However, to prevent vaccine stockouts, which could occur if
there are delays in co-financed vaccine procurement, the government must increase the amount to the NHIF and ensure the early and consistent disbursement of NHIL funds.
Highlighting on the health sector, it said the Ministry of Health’s Mid-Term Review for 2023 highlighted several underperforming indicators related to goods and services and CAPEX.
These include stock-outs of essential medicines, poorly functioning ambulance service stations, community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) zones lacking effective emergency transport systems, underdeveloped Accident and Emergency (A&E) units in public hospitals, and insufficient implementation of planned preventive maintenance.
“It is crucial for the government to reduce allocations to the compensation line item and increase funding to the goods and services and CAPEX components to enhance healthcare services,” the statement said.
On education, it said government funding for goods and services, as well as capital expenditures (currently at 10.63%), was grossly inadequate to address the infrastructural deficits and to deliver quality educational services in the country.
Basic education particularly suffers from chronic underfunding. “According to our 2023 budget analysis, approximately 3.5 billion is needed annually to improve
infrastructure in basic education,” it added.
It also said government must increase allocations for goods and services and capital expenditures to enhance teaching and learning.
While the allocation of 20% of allowances to incentivize teachers assigned to underserved communities is a positive step toward improving the teacher-pupil ratio and conditions for these educators, allocating 87% of the education budget to compensation is not equitable, the statement said.
The statement said, galamsey directly impacted the cost of producing potable water and contributed to unhygienic conditions due to pollution.
“We are skeptical about whether the budget allocation of less than GH¢1 billion to the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing will be sufficient to clean rivers such as the Volta, Pra, and Birim, thereby ensuring access to clean water for people, especially those living in areas affected by galamsey,” it said.
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